Cork runner Alex O'Shea is the first of the Irish home in the 250km Spartathlon Ultra

Well done to Cork runner Alex O'Shea who finished his very first Spartathlon 250km Ultra last weekend in a time of 28 hours and 40 minutes!

The race follows the route of the legendary Pheidippides who is said to have run from Marathon to Athens to deliver news of the victory of the battle of Marathon in 490 BC.

According to the event website..."The idea for its creation is belongs to John Foden, a British RAF Wing Commander. As a lover of Greece and student of ancient Greek history, Foden stopped his reading of Herodotus' narration regarding Pheidippides, puzzled and wondering if a modern man could cover the distance from Athens to Sparta, i.e. 250 kms, within 36 hours."

Out of the 167 finishers, these are the ones with an Irish interest....

26 O Shea Alex 126 Ireland 2021-09-25 11:40:53 28:40:12

27 Espina Rolando 98 Philippines 2021-09-25 11:42:23 28:41:41 (Living in Dublin)

28 Higgins Alastair 110 United Kingdom 2021-09-25 11:45:16 28:44:59 (Living in Dublin)

97 Jennings Anne 57 Ireland 2021-09-25 17:38:06 34:37:26

163 Lee Anthony 52 Ireland 2021-09-25 18:50:54 35:50:13

The winner of the 2021 Spartathlon was Fotis Zisimopoulos from Greece winning in a time of 21:57:36. This was the second fastest time by a Greek ultrarunner and the last Greek to win the event was way back in 1998.

Anne Jennings & Anthony Lee in the early stage of the event

Thanks to John O'Regan who provides the following info...

***

Cork-born John McCarthy was one of three Royal Air Force officers who successfully took part in a trial run in 1982 to see if it was possible to follow in Pheidippides’s steps. The first international Spartathlon was held the following year.

Spartathlon finishers from Ireland with the years completed: 12 Men & 4 Women

Eddie Gallen = Most finishes Men *4

Anne Jennings = Most finishes Women *2

Eoin Keith = Fastest (M) 26:37:50

Doina Nugent =Fastest (W) 30:58:22

Irish finishers of the Spartathlon Ultra

The Guardian Podcast: The danger and beauty of ultrarunning

In a recent 100km mountain race in China, 21 competitors died after a sudden change in the weather.

The sport of Ultra-Running has enjoyed huge growth worldwide in recent years going from 120,000 finishers in 2008 to over 600,000 finishers in 2018.

In this podcast, the Guardian looks at the sports of Ultra-Running... its attractions and its problems.

You can find the 30 minute podcast HERE

The Human Bean: Training for a 50k by eating nothing but beans for 40-days

Here's something different! An Aussie named Beau Miles ate nothing but beans for 40-days to train for a 50k Ultra Marathon and to see what the impact would be.

The video which is 26 minutes long is worth a watch.

"Eating only the contents of 191 tins of beans over 40 days transforms Beau into The Human Bean, and in doing so gives him a front row seat into how one food, totally and utterly, dictates how he feels. Beau uses his intimate knowledge of running to compare his former self to his bean-self, logging lacklustre training for an ultramarathon that he plans on running during the final day of the experiment."

Beans eaten:
80 tins of organic baked beans in tomato sauce (13.8% carbs)
30 tins of organic kidney beans (5% carbs)
20 tins of organic blackbeans (12.5% carbs)
40 tins of four bean mix (10.5%)
10 tins Mexican bean mix (9% carbs)
10 tins butter beans (13% carbs)
1 tin of giant greek(?) beans (17% carbs)

Video: UltraMarathon Man: 50 Marathons • 50 States • 50 Days

In April of 2020, Journey Films put a video titled UltraMarathon Man: 50 Marathons • 50 States • 50 Days up on YouTube.

Description... "2006 - The inspirational film, UltraMarathon Man: 50 Marathons • 50 States • 50 Days, features renowned endurance athlete and best selling author Dean Karnazes in his attempt to run 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 consecutive days to raise awareness for youth obesity and to get America active. A beautiful and epic journey across the United States, during which Dean pushes the limits of human endurance, inspiring thousands across the country to join him along the path while uniting people of all ages and abilities to take “the next step.”

 

Irish woman runs a record 106 marathons in one year

At the end of 2015, Brenda O'Keeffe from Cavan finished her final race in Braintree, England to make it an incredible 106 marathons completed for the year. This total which includes several ultras is a new Irish and possibly European Women's record.

Brenda who is a professional chef only started running five years ago in 2010 when she was 32 years old and completed her first marathon that year. She has been a regular on the marathon circuit in Ireland ever since and set a new Irish record of 74 marathons in one year in 2014 which included a first place finish in the Portumna 100km in June.

In 2015, her 106 marathon total added up to an amazing 5,356miles or 8,988kms. Her busiest month was last August when she ran 20 marathons in that month alone. Out of the 106 marathons completed during the year, several were Ultra-Marathons. The most impressive of which was probably Brenda finishing second in the Irish National 24 hour championships in Belfast last July when she completed 106 miles in the 24 hour period.

In a recent media interview, Brenda said..."Back in 2009 I was in a bar in Dublin and all these ladies were celebrating finishing the 10km mini marathon. I decided there and then I was going to do it the following year. Not only did I run the 2010 mini marathon, just four months later I ran the full Dublin city one and six days after that another in Berlin. This was only the beginning, the beginning of something that would change my life. Last year I ran the most marathons run by a woman in Ireland in a calendar year - 74.

But at this stage I have trained my body to get through the pain which stood me in good stead last year when I came 1st in the Portumna 100km. At around the 80km mark I was actually getting sick and wasn't able to take on any fluids. I was in the lead and was determined to stay ahead. So I literally taught myself that day to run and get sick at the same time. A lot was learnt that day.

I know it sounds strange to willingly put yourself through that kind of torture, but I ended up winning that day and learned how far I can push myself. Last year I did ten marathons in ten consecutive days and on the first day I had porridge, chicken, salad, soup and pasta, but by day four it was Tayto and chips! I really wanted to have something nourishing, but my body was having none of it and so it got to the stage where I was eating Refresher sweets for breakfast. Every runner has different dietary needs. On the morning of a marathon I would usually have porridge and a banana.  The combination keeps me fueled."

In 2016, Brenda plans to complete a 200 mile race in Wales as well as at least one 48 hour race, two 24 hour ones and the 56 mile Comrades Ultra marathon in South Africa.

This is an interview with Brenda after she had ran 74 marathons in 2014...

Padraig Mullins from Cork completes the Badwater 135 mile Ultra-Marathon in Death Valley

Back in 2012, I had a guest post up on the site about Padraig Mullins who is a regular in Ultra events in the USA. Originally from Rathpeacon in Cork, Padraig has lived in Boston in the US since 2004 and started running in 2006.

Over the last few days, Padraig has been taking part in the Badwater 135 in California, one of the most famous Ultra events in the world. This starts in Death Valley which is 85m below sea level and finishes on the slopes of Mount Whitney at 2530 metres. In total, a distance of 135 miles and a cumulative ascent of 4450 metres. Add in the oven like temperatures and you can imagine how tough it must be.

Here is a description....."Covering 135 miles (217km) non-stop from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney, CA, the Nutrimatix Badwater® 135 is the most demanding and extreme running race offered anywhere on the planet. The start line is at Badwater, Death Valley, which marks the lowest elevation in North America at 280’ (85m) below sea level. The race finishes at Whitney Portal at 8,300’ (2530m). The Badwater 135 course covers three mountain ranges for a total of 14,600’ (4450m) of cumulative vertical ascent and 6,100’ (1859m) of cumulative descent."

Padraig started the race at 7am Irish time on Wednesday morning and finished around 9pm Irish time on Thursday...roughly 38 hours. He is the third Irish person to have ever completed this event.

Paul Tierney from Cork wins 100 mile Ultra Mountain Race in England

Paul Tierney from Cork has just won the Lakeland 100 mile race in the UK. The route which covers a total of 105 miles (169kms) and has a total ascent of 6,856 metres (22,493ft) was won by Paul in a time of 20h 42m 07s. Just over 300 prople started the race.

Paul who was a former member of Eagle AC is now based in UK and represents Ambleside AC.

Results of the Courtmacsherry Ultra, Marathon, Half & 10k...Sat 25th July 2015

In 2014, the options for this event were a 10k, 18 miles and a 36 mile Ultra. The format was changed this year and a marathon and half-Marathon were included which had the effect that the 18 and 36 mile distances were down.

In the 36 mile event, the numbers dropped from 63 in 2014 to 49 this year. 69 runners opted to do the marathon.

The 18 mile event dropped to just 5 after 80 took part last year. 82 runners opted for the half instead.

101 took part in the 10k.

The full results can be seen HERE

Visually impaired athlete Sinead Kane from Cork finishes 2nd in Belfast 12 hour Ultra

Last weekend (Fri 17th & Sat 18th July 2015), the Energia 12 and 24 Hour Race was held at the Mary Peter's track in Belfast. Both races started at 6:45pm on Friday evening with the 12 hour contestants finishing at 6:45am on Saturday morning. The 24 hour runners finished at 6:45pm on Saturday evening.

Sinead Kane with her guide runner John O'Regan

In the 12 hour race, Sinead Kane from Youghal, Co.Cork finished in second place with an hugely impressive total of 68.3 miles. That works out as 10m 32s minute mile pace which includes any stops.

To put that into context, it's the same as starting from Patrick Street in Cork City and running to O'Connell Street in Limerick City and then adding on another 8 miles.

Pace wise, it's the same as doing two 4:36 marathons back to back without a rest and then doing an extra 16 miles!

Apart from the physical fitness, it's obvious that to complete such a distance requires a huge amount of determination and mental discipline. You need to be able to run to what feels like the point of exhaustion and then beyond into the unknown.

These are some of the notable dates in Sinead's running career so far...
1) 2012...Starts running and completes first 10k
2) June 2014...Completes the Cork City Half-Marathon in 1h 49m
3) Oct 2014...Completes the Dublin City Marathon in 4h 01m. First visually impaired female runner to complete the Dublin City Marathon.
4) Feb 2015...Completes the Donadea 50k in 4h 52m. First Irish visually impaired runner to complete an Ultra-Marathon.
5) Mar 2015...Completes the Tralee Marathon in 3h 55m.
6) July 2015...2nd woman in the Belfast 12 hour. First visually impaired runner to take part in event.

Sinead's guide for the 12 hour race was John O'Regan who has represented Ireland on several occasions in International 24 hour races.

As locations go, it is a stunning location with the track hemmed in on two sides by a large embankment and surrounded by woodland.

As well as Sinead, there were a number of other runners from Cork in action there as well.

In the 12 hour race, John Hallahan of Leevale AC completed 53.7 miles.

In the 24 hours race, Eoin Keith who is originally from Cork finished in first place with 141.9 miles covered (228.4kms). Eddie Gallen was second with 222.566kms. Both Eoin and Eddie achieved the IAAF B standard of 220kms for a 24 hour race.

Other Cork runners in the results were Grellan McGrath of Eagle AC who completed 103.1 miles, his second time breaking the 100 mile barrier after winning the Connemara 100 mile back in 2013.

And finally but certainly not least, Jerry Forde completed 55.6 miles. He was the first wheelchair athlete to take part in the Belfast 24 hour race.

Photos...
1) NI Running have 2 albums...#1 & #2

New cycling & walking route from Dublin to Galway under development

Back in 2013, I had a post up about an 110km Ultra in England that went from the East to West coast roughly following the route of Hadrian's Wall. I had posed the question if such a run was possible in Ireland from Dublin to Galway.

The Grand Canal goes from Dublin to the Shannon so it certainly seemed possible that a route might be viable.

Well it seems that this is exactly what is now happening and the 276km route is shown below...

Here are some of the features...

Features
◗ A purposeful recreational facility for use by both cyclists and walkers
◗ 91km of towpath along the Royal Canal Network
◗ 45km of disused railway line from Mullingar to Athlone
◗ 140km of new build Cycleway from Athlone to Galway with new bridges
 across the rivers Shannon and Suck
◗ Regular service facilities
◗ Scenic views of diverse landscape including coastline, boglands, woodlands and watercourses
◗ Towns and cities featured on the route include Dublin, Maynooth, Mullingar, Athlone,
 Ballinasloe, Loughrea and Galway

While some charity runs go from Malin to Mizen on pubic roads, this shorter option from coast to coast looks like a safer option and could be covered easily in a week if someone opted to do a marathon per day.

The pathway will of course be a great addition to any runners along the route or anyone visiting the region.

You can find out more about the National Galway to Dublin Cycleway in this PDF document.

The website for it is http://www.galwaytodublincycleway.ie/

Badwater Ultramarathon returns to Death Valley in 2015

One of the most famous ultra-marathons in the world is the Badwater 135...a tortuous 135 mile ultra that starts in Death Valley below sea level and finishes at Mt. Whitney Portal at 8,360 feet (2530m). In 2014, the route had to be changed due to new safety rules introduced by the National Parks Service due to the extreme heat.

In order to comply with the new rules, the race will now start at night and runners will also be to a maximum of four crew members and one support vehicle, down from six and two, respectively, in the past.

In a statement, the organisers said......."We are just excited to return to Death Valley. Most of the impact of the new rules will be on us, the organizers, with more bureaucracy and additional expenses. Event participants and support crews won't see too much that is different, other than more rules to follow."

The race will be held July 28-30, and registration opens January 19.

This video clips below are from the documentary Running on the Sun 2000. It really captures the flavour of the event. It's split up into 9 parts...

Part 1 of 9....Check out the training method at 5:20...I'd recommend it!

Part 2 of 9

Part 3 of 9

Part 4 of 9

Part 5 of 9

Part 6 of 9

Part 7 of 9

Part 8 of 9

Part 9 of 9

Tony Mangan's world Tour ends this month with a 1600km run around Ireland

Tony Mangan is an Ultra-Marathon runner from Dublin who has spent the last four years running 50,000kms around the world. After starting the journey at the Dublin City Marathon in October of 2010, he is currently running 1600kms around Ireland and will finish his journey at the Dublin City Marathon on the 27th of October 2014.

This is his schedule for the rest of the month. If you want to join Tony for a few miles or for further information, e-mail siobhanclifford42 AT gmail DOT com

(Subject to change)
Monday 6th ... Ballydesmond to Tralee.
Tuesday 7th ... Tralee to Killarney Via Killorglin.
Wednesday 8th ... Killarney to Kenmare.
Thursday 9th ... Kenmare to Bantry
Friday 10th ... Bantry to Mizen Head
Saturday 11th ... Mizen Head to Ballydehob
Sunday 12th Ballydehob to Clonakility.
Monday 13th Clonakilty to Cork
Tues 14th...Rest
Wed 15th...Cork to Castlemartyr
Thurs 16th...Castlemartyr to Dungarvan
Fri 17th...Dungarvan to Waterford
Sat 18th...Waterford to Kilkenny
Sun 19th...Rest
Mon 20th...Kilkenny to New Ross
Tues 21st...New Ross to Wexford
Wed 22nd...Wexford to Gorey
Thurs 23rd...Gorey to Rathdrum via Arklow
Fri 24th...Wicklow to Bray
Sat 25th...Bray via Dun Laoghaire / Blackrock to Dublin City Marathon start
Sun 26th...Rest
Mon 27th...Dublin City Marathon

Tony has his own website here... http://www.theworldjog.com/blog/

Grellan McGrath from Cork wins Belfast 12 hour race

The Energia 12 and 24 hour race was held at the Mary Peters track in Belfast last weekend, the 18th and 19th of July. Starting at 6:45pm on Friday evening, contestants had to run multiple laps of the 400m track with the 12 hour runners finishing at 6:45am on Saturday morning and the 24 hour runners finishing on Saturday evening.

Grellan McGrath of Eagle AC in Cork won the 12 hour race when he completed 315 laps which is equal to 81.25 miles or 130.7kms.

Grellan, who lives in Ballincollig is no stranger to Ultra races having won the Connemara 100 mile back in July 2013.

More details can be seen on the Eagle AC website.

Results of the Keith Whyte Ultra, Half-Ultra & 10k - Sat 19th July 2014

The Keith Whyte 36 mile Ultra-Marathon was held on Saturday the 19th of February in Courtmacsherry, West Cork.

A total of 63 runners took part in the full Ultra distance of 36 miles, up from the 49 in the inaugural event in 2013.

36 Mile Ultra
1 Vasiliy Neumerzhitskiy Ireland Marathon Club M 4:35:56...(7:40 per mile)
2 Brian Ankers  100 Marathon Club    M 4:53:31
3 Stephen Tabb  Defence forces    M 4:54:51
5 Col Conway  F 5:02:00....(8:23 per mile)
9 Mandy Cooke  F 5:39:02
25 Anne Jennings F  6:19:10

In the 18 mile Half-Ultra, there were 80 taking part.
1 Christopher Murnane  St Finbarrs    M 1:55:55...(6:26 per mile)
2 Shane O'Rourke  Bandon AC    M 2:03:12
3 Eric Browne  Eagle AC    M 2:04:02
12 Lucy Darcy  Precision Timing    F  2:16:35...(7:35 per mile)
24 Lynda Fay  St.Abbans    F 2:26:26
26 Sandra Walsh F 2:28:07

10k...
1 Ronan Wogan        Precision Timing    M 36:33
2 Ian Martin,            M 39:06
3 Frank Landy        Clare crusaders    M 41:48
5 Ronnie Barry        Bandon AC    F 42:42
17 Catherine Clancy        St catherine    F 48:42
23 Noreen Crowley,            F 50:29

The full results can be seen HERE

Photos...(Updated Mon 21st July @10am)
1) Martin Kelleher has a small gallery on Facebook HERE
2) The organisers have a gallery of 430 photos HERE and 64 photos HERE

Update on the Courtmacsherry Ultra-Marathon...

This is an update from the organisers of the Keith Whyte Waterfront Ultra Marathon in Courtmacsherry next Saturday the 19th of July.

Dear Participant, We welcome you to Keith Whyte Waterfront Ultra Marathon II on 19th July 2014.

This boutique event is  situated in the picturesque fishing village of Courtmacsherry, West Cork  where the sea is always by your side. This event was set up to promote Ultra Marathon running and our 100 K national record holder  Clare man Keith Whyte . The first Irish man ever to win the Celtic plate.

This year we felt it fitting that Keith will share the medal with the iconic South African President Nelson Mandela who would have celebrated his 96th birthday on 18th of July. A man of great dignity who showed the world what endurance and the human spirit  could achieve.

Race pack and your  Keith Whyte ultra  running tech top collection. If not pre-paid posted collection times will be between 6 - 8 pm on Friday 18th in Courtmacsherry hotel and from 7 am to 8.30 am on Saturday morning . Please come early to avoid delays .

ALL KEITH WHYTE TECH RUNNING TOPS TO BE COLLECTED AT THE HOTEL.

Race start 9 am sharp. Please allow ample time...minimum 20 min  for parking and walking to start line. Your  Keith Whyte ultra Medal will be waiting for you at the finish line :)

Please take time to get your photo taken with Keith and your family and friends as a  special memory of your great achievement on the day. FREE TO DOWN LOAD IN HIGH RES AFTER .

Free tea/coffee with Nature valleys bars available after you finish . Stay around and enjoy your day and have some.

Limited showers available But do not forget no greater way to heal after a tough run than the big  blue salted Atlantic ocean .......So make sure to bring your toiletries and towel maybe some sand buckets and shovels :):)....

A VIDEO WILL BE MADE OF YOUR DAY

The person with the  biggest smile wearing your Keith Whyte tech running top showing your race no. will receive  50 EUROS LATER BY POST  :) :)

SKECHERS PERFORMANCES RUNNING SHOES AND PROUD SPONSORS OF Keith Whyte and The Keith Whyte Ultra Marathon II Have kindly sponsored 6 pairs of performance running shoes for you.

One for each  female/male winner  of each of our three races.

GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL ON THE DAY

We look forward to seeing you all on Race day  may you all have a safe a great day out  .
PLEASE NOTE WHILE ROADS WILL BE MARSHALLED THEY WILL REMAIN OPEN TO TRAFFIC AND NORMAL RULES OF THE ROADS APPLY.

Travel safe and A Big West Cork Welcome to you all :) :)  xx

The Keith Whyte Waterfront Ultra Marathon Crew.

BBC article on 24 hour race

I came across this the other day. Back in June, there was a 24 hour race on a athletics track in Gloucester in England and the BBC had an article on it HERE

As races go, it's certainly up there with some of the strangest. You keep running around and around on a 400m track and reverse direction at set intervals. You never get more than 200m away from where you started and the objective is to run as many laps as possible in 24 hours.

Back in 1982 on the same track in Gloucester, local runner Dave Dowdle completed 686 laps in 24 hours to set a new world record of 170 miles (274kms).

That distance was subsequently broken by Yannis Kouros in Australia in 1997 when he ran 188 miles (303.5km).

The only 24 hour race in Ireland is coming up at the Mary Peters athletics track in Belfast next weekend. The 24 hour race is already sold out with only places left for the 12 hour and relay option.

Notice...Courtmacsherry Ultra-Marathon, Half Ultra & 10k - Sat 19th July 2014

The Keith Whyte Waterfront Ultra-Marathon is coming up on Saturday the 19th of July 2014 in Courtmacsherry in West Cork and there are a choice of three distances...a 36 mile ultra-marathon, an 18 mile race and a 10k race.

The 36 mile and 18 mile course is shown below.

The 18 mile course starts in Courtmacsherry.......runs west 3 miles to Timoleague....and the east along the northern shore until you reach the 9 mile mark. You then retrace your steps back to start line to make it 18 miles. For the 36 mile course, you repeat this again.

The 10k course is dead flat. It starts in Courtmacsherry and goes to the old ruined abbey in Timoleague before turning around and returning to where you started.

Each course has been measured by Jone Counter and has an AAI permit.

Each event will be chip timed with a medal and technical top for each finisher.

You can enter HERE

More info in later posts...

Report on the Courtmacsherry 36 mile Ultra-Marathon...Sun 27th July

From the race organisers...
Waterfront Ultra Marathon, Courtmacsherry, West Cork – a round up...27th July 2013

A beautiful day greeted the 51 national and international competitors to the pretty seaside village of Courtmacsherry for the inaugural Waterfront Ultra Marathon.  The challenge was a 36.25 mile ultra-marathon over an outstanding coastal route where the sea was never more than a few metres away.  Organised by Bob & Maria Hilliard and ably assisted by many marshals, volunteers and the Red Cross, the Waterfront Marathon crew pulled off a superbly run event that was enjoyed by all of the competitors and spectators.

A delighted Bob Hilliard spoke passionately about the support the people of Courtmacsherry gave to the event, “this year has seen the start of an outstanding annual running event, one that is sure to grow each year, and every competitor was blown away by the warmth of the locals and the natural scenic beauty the area has to offer.  They will be back and will bring friends and family”.

Irish ultra-marathon record holder, Keith Whyte from Ennis, Co Clare won the 36.25 mile event in a scintillating 4 hours and 3 seconds.  Keith, who is about to represent Ireland next month in the world championships in Durham South Africa, spoke highly of the organisation and postcard pretty route.  In honour of Keith’s contribution to Irish Athletics and for his superb finishing time the Hilliard’s have decided that race will be titled “The Keith Whyte Waterfront Ultra Marathon” from now on.

Another interesting story in the strong field of marathoners was the entry of Shane McCarville from Monaghan who is attempting an Irish record this year.  It is to run in excess of 52 marathons in one year to raise money for the Irish Heart Foundation.  Shane completed his 44th marathon in Courtmacsherry last Saturday even though he was heavily injured following on from his 10 marathons in 10 days earlier in July.

Many of the entrants were members of the renowned 100 Marathon Club and the field also included four runners from England and even one New Zealander.   

Welcome packs were given to each entrant and the race was professionally chip timed.  Every finisher received a specially designed technical t shirt, a scroll from the people of Courtmacsherry and the highlight was a high quality commemorative medal in honour of Courtmacsherry hero, Patrick Keohane, Antarctic explorer.  The organisers were delighted to present the Courtmacsherry Lifeboat a contribution of €5 out of every entry.

One spectator summed it up by saying “It’s amazing to see every finishing competitor waiting around to cheer on the following runners, what a positive event”.  The after party was also great fun and went on until late in the night.

The results can be seen in this earlier post.

Results of the Courtmacsherry 36 mile Ultra-Marathon - Sat 27th July 2013

The inaugural Courtmacsherry Ultra-Marathon was held on Saturday, the 27th of July 2013. A field of 49 runners tacked the relatively flat 36 mile course which followed the waterfront.

The mens race was won by Keith White who set a new Irish 100 km record back in June. The womens race was won by Col Conroy.

The full results can be seen HERE

How much do you know about Ultra-Marathons???

Are you an expert on Ultra-Marathons? Take this 7 question quiz on the BBC website and find out.