Like Famous Footwear has only fit-looking runner types working at teir stores. I have been thinnner and have run faster but I still run 65-70 miles a week. Plus my marathon training groups help 350+ new runners a year. And I do have the last American to win Boston training at my store.
wow, now thats a big store. How many laps for a 100 mile week?
You're right, Brooks doesn't sponsor anyone. They are a small company and probably spend their promotional/ advertising money on print ads. Mizuno and Fila are in the same boat, except that they do have athletes in Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Reebok will be adding new athletes in the coming months. There's a new team in place and they will focus on signing a couple of good athletes. Remember, they were very, very close to signing Webb.
Besides Drossin, Asics does have some pretty good young athletes. Checking the Running USA website, they sponsor Billy Herman, Sara Wells, and Kristen Nicolini. I saw Dan Wilson and Janelle Krause wearing their uniform at the Midnight Run. I think Amy Yoder is also running for them.
My guess is all these companies, minus Reebok, have limited promotional/advertising money. Unlike Nike, or even adidas to some extent, they have decided to focus their efforts on other things or just smaller groups of athletes. I'm not sure it's their responsibility to provide assistance to every decent athlete out there. Just because it has always been that way, doesn't mean it's the right way.
Brooks used to be a very popular brand in the UK. They sponsored (in both clothing and money) Eamon Martin (winner of the National X/C in 84 & 92), Dave Lewis (winner in 85, 89 & 94) and Tim Hutchings (winner in 83 & 86). They even made spikes called the National X/C - these were THE shoes to wear for serious club runners.
I'm not sure what exactly happened next but they had financial difficulties and disappeared for ages. I've noticed in the last couple of years that there is a few shops over here that stock some of their stuff, but I'm not sure if they'll be able to make a huge impact as the market has changed quite a bit since then. I can't remember seeing any top athletes in Brooks gear for a long time.