Well. I don't have any. But since not a lot of you are from my exact background, I'll tell you why.
I ran in high school. Pretty competitively at 10k, less so (but not terrible) at marathon. Half would have been great for me but wasn't a popular distance yet at that time. OK, a lot of you will have noticed that this must have been a good while ago. It was the original running boom, and at that time, Nike had not taken over the high school running scene. Not even close. Wasn't all that popular yet. Long after I was older, I noticed it had, though. I remember pictures in RT (may it RIP) of high school races in which 100% of the participants wore the brand. A couple years later I remember a multi-page spread in which, out of hundreds of teenagers in various pictures, I remember spotting maybe 3 racing in something else. Another was standing around pre- or post-race with Sauconys. So, more than 99% Nike.
Although these particular kids have long since left HS, and therefore the current generation may not be exactly the same, I realized that peer pressure requires certain behavior in that age group. One is that you must run for the school-sanctioned teams, another is that you must wear Nike. How many kids are willing to wear something else and stand out?
College is not much different. I spotted a pair of NB on TV watching the NCAA meet last year. One non-Nike pair in all the footage I caught. Is this good, bad, neither? Other than the fact that it's great for Nike, who can say? The only point is that there is a brand nearly every American who runs competitively starts out with. By 8-10 years into their careers (I use the term loosely, whether they're getting paid or not) they've never worn anything else. So, to wear another brand for so many people means switching. Brand loyalty being what it is, if you've never worn/driven/eaten/drunk anything else, it is easy to stay where you are.
I started not pre-Nike exactly but prior to them becoming THE shoe company in 90% of American minds. It took no guts to wear Brooks, NB, or Saucony back then, as all the other road-racing kids did, too. I didn't participate in the NCAA, although, they hadn't taken over that world yet at the time. So I was thousands and thousands of miles in without having used them and had no comfort, familiarity, nor loyalty by the time I was middle-aged. That is why I do not wear them now and am not aware of a model they make that I'd be interested in. They may be good, but I am not aware of it if they are. Probably one of few on the Board with a similar explanation.
