• Greensands Fun

    Looking back, it is possible that I started running for the same reasons as lots of other people: to get fitter, to loose weight etc. Over time though, we discover many other things that keep us running. For example no one ever starts running to keep themselves sane, but it is something that you kind of pick up along the way and many a runner will state that they can’t imagine giving up running as they’d go nuts. It’s the same with fun. How many people would start running because it's fun? When you start it may even seem far from the truth, so I’d guess not many. However over time you soon learn that it can be… That brings me to yesterdays event - the Greensands Relay race. The idea is a simple one, 35 miles of trails, lanes and tracks divided up into sections. Teams are formed to each complete a section of the course with various different route lengths. Of course there are also some that do the whole race solo. Once teams are formed, then starts the fun of recce’ing the various sections of the course so no one gets lost, but that always happens and adds to the fun. The word ‘race’ doesn’t really do the event justice. It’s more of a team ‘day out’. Normally you all jump into a single car and drive round the course, dropping off and picking up runners at the various checkpoints. It’s like a huge team-building exercise, people getting together to take part and bonding. We were ‘Team Golden Boot’ on account of having Dan ‘Golden Boot’ Green in our team and from the moment he set off running at 12.15, and the rest of the team jumped into a car, it was an amazing experience. You have an age-graded handicap and part of the fun is seeing if you can push yourself to get under that. That said, there are a lot of teams that take part purely to enjoy the day and are not interested in the results. So, Dan put us in a great position by smashing his handicap on leg 1. Then it was my turn on leg 2. I was apprehensive as I face-planted in the mud the week before on a test run…what was going to happen whilst running flat out this time? I need not have worried though, it was wetter than an otters sock, but great fun ploughing through tracks full of water and mud and I pushed us another 3 minutes under the handicap. Leg 3 was Martin Crane with the longest section of 9 miles, then Jo Lancaster, John Preston and finally Stephen Moore finishing. All the while, we were driving to the next checkpoint and mingling with the other teams, soaking up the friendly atmosphere, before heading off in the car again. It has a very ‘grass roots’ feel to the event, which is appealing and great to be part of, with fellow runners, friends, family and pets all out in support. There’s a slightly competitive feel to it too, but not too much, not too serious, it’s definitely light-hearted and supportive with all runners being clapped in by everyone at each handover. Just the right balance I thought! Then there’s the end. We drive through some nameless villages to find Northill, and on arriving we pass by a village green surrounded by thatched cottages and a maypole as a game of cricket took place. We all remarked that we couldn’t find a better example of middle-England if we tried! Finally parked up, we get beers from the pub and head to the finish line to support the last leg runners. It was almost a shame to leave, it was so much fun, but people need to get home so we set off and start dropping team members off along the way. This morning as I think back to the event I am reminded of an expression I first heard at school many years ago: “it’s not the winning that matters, it’s the taking part that counts”. I can’t think of a more apt phrase, the results are largely irrelevant when you enjoy a day like that. Greensands is not a race, it’s an experience! Looking forward to next year already!

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  • Have you thought about…

    So you’re possibly training for a marathon? Or half? Possibly your first or one of your first few? A lot of you will be thinking about your training plan right now, and trying to stay focused on it, but I’ll wager that not many of you will be thinking holistically about the event. Holistically…? Oh so we’re rolling out the big words now are we? Yes, holistically means thinking about things like the post-marathon meal, the things you’ll need to think about on the day, the day before, the kit you’ll need, the kit that will work, the kit that will fail, the race pace, the toilet strategy and so on…. Its easy to become pre-occupied with the running part of the training and think that it’s the most important aspect of the overall plan, well there is an element of truth in that, but its important also to not overlook what will make or break your event ‘on the day’. Remember always that its never funny, after having trained for 3 or 4 months for an event, to be side-swiped by something you hadn’t thought of. Right now you are probably wondering what possible plethora of items there could be to worry about on the day itself. Well, what about hydration? Hydration can affect performance by up to 30% or so given a 5% decrease in hydration by body weight, meaning that if you get that wrong on the days leading up to, and on the day, you could be looking at a huge decrease in race-performance (http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/dehydration-and-its-effects-on-performance) depending on the event, based on not being hydrated correctly. Then there’s preparing for the weather, you have to think of what the most likely scenario will be and plan for it. Race too hot…well….you’ll only do it once. Then there’s nutrition, then there’s your gels…how will you carry them? Have you tried to eat the gels you intend to use? Will you listen to music or not? Is it allowed? Have you checked the course? Will there be a massive hill at mile 24? Where will you need a boost? How will you travel, or park? What is your race pace? Have you practised it? What time do they serve breakfast in your hotel? This is just the beginning but there are a lot of things to consider if you want to do well. However, all of that assumes that you want to do your best. You can, of course, decide that all of the above is not so important to you, however, and take a more casual approach but I can bet that you’ll still want to finish, and not be carried off by the St Johns army, so regardless you’ll still need to do some planning. To set you thinking, why not check out our article on the LFR web (courtesy Chris Taylor) concerning training for success. https://leightonfunrunners.org.uk/club-activities/training-coaches-corner/success/    

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  • Staying Injury Free

    It’s coming to the end of January. Many runners will be getting to a stage in their training plan where the mileage is starting to ramp up as they prepare for the start of the racing season. Runners tackling a new races will likely be running more often than before, potentially training slightly differently too, taking on speed, hill and distance sessions. At this stage many first-time marathon runners will start to feel tired as the additional training kicks in and these are a group at arguably the highest risk of injury. They are, sadly not alone, as experienced runners will tell you, injuries can happen to anyone. It’s a fact, though, that many first-time marathon runners fail for a variety of factors like motivation or overuse or acute injuries brought on by the change in workload. Knee, calf, achilles and foot issues seem to be the most common, brought on by “too much too soon” from attempting hill training, speed training or long distance training or all of that in spades. It’s so tempting to simply “follow the plan” no matter what. I’ve heard runners say “but its on the plan” so many times, even when completely exhausted from training. The body needs to recover from each session you put it through and it does this when at rest, at night when you sleep as well as during rest days. Benefiting from increased training and “getting stronger” is called adaptation. Your body ‘adapts’ to the increased levels of training, but it can only adapt if its allowed enough rest to do so, this is why rest is so important to marathon training. Your muscles, tendons and ligaments undergo constant structural and biomechanical changes in adaptation to stress. Should a runner increase their workload too quickly, these structures will not have time to adapt and all of a sudden you are parked on injury street. There are various rules about increasing workload gradually, but you can generally speaking simplify it to a 10% rule. Either increase the overall mileage by 10%, the mileage of the long run by 10% or increase the intensity, although this is harder to gauge. Increasing overall miles, the long run and throwing in hard sessions together will certainly lead to breaking point sooner. The running shoes play a part too. They start to break down between 300 and 500 miles and this too can lead to injury as the cushioning and responsiveness changes drive small changes to your running style. There are plenty of other ways you can get injured, but here are some collated tips to try and stay injury free and motivated; Preparation time. Don’t try to rush the training plan. If you are newer to running then it will take you longer to build up the mileage base. Don’t add missed sessions to the next week. Design your plan around the 10% rule Cross-training such as swimming or cycling can be useful, or take a day off on the days after your long runs. Allow your body time to adapt. Be specific during the taper, and don’t dramatically cut mileage down. It should be gradual. Include races in the plan where it makes sense such as 10k, 10m and half marathon races. Group runs at the same pace often increase enjoyment and motivation. Its important that its at your pace. You can get into issues from both running slower than normal as well as faster. Motivation is key, you are far more likely to stay the course when motivation is high. Listen to your body and your peers. If you feel tired all the time and look like hell, chances are an injury is just around the corner if you don’t change something quick. Take some time out, eat well, recover and re-join the plan. Be flexible. Warm up pre-run where there the session will be intensive and warm down after tough sessions. By taking a sensible approach and being flexible, following a plan through to a race ought to be an enjoyable process. You can’t do much about nerves as you get closer to the race, but that’s another story, but you can get to the start line injury free.              

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  • Snow and Ice

    SNOW!! Yes depending on how old or grumpy you are this is either good news or bad news, it tends to split people down the middle. Runners are no exception with those that love getting out early on fresh snow for a good long run, and others who hate it and see only the risk of injury. The truth, as is so often the case, is somewhere in the middle, in the grey area, where you assess the risk and trade that off against the beauty of cutting your path through a frozen landscape and enjoying feeling the sensation like you’re the first person on the planet. Like it or loath it, you cant deny that running in icy or snowy conditions takes more effort. It definitely takes more effort and seems to leave you feeling like you’ve run a race when all you did was run around the town. Which is good, right? If you run the distance you were planning then I guarantee you’ll need more effort for this on snow or ice. LFR went out today in the snow ‘en masse’, as it does best, here there and everywhere. Some went along the canal, some in the woods, some along country lanes and some and, well, some forged their own paths. But many runners shy away from going out running in the cold, the icy weather, the snow. Its somewhat understandable. Anyone who is a runner will have been to some degree injured at some point and none of us like it. No sir. So why add to the risk of getting injured? That’s the real question….but there are ways to minimize the risk. A couple of great articles here on how to minimize the risk of running in snowy, icy conditions. https://runneracademy.com/how-to-run-in-snow-and-ice/ http://www.runandbecome.com/running-training-advice/how-to-run-in-snow People site risk of injury for not wanting to go out running in such weather, but really running is something that is already a risk-laden pastime, but this truly only represents one of the additional hazards that exist, rather than being a deal-breaker. Its surely something to cautiously embrace? That said, its crucial as ever to take precautions and by being sensible, running where you are unlikely to encounter fast moving traffic, where roads will have been gritted, in daylight, in high-viz, with grippy shoes, taking care where you place your feet, etc, etc you can have a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Next time we get some white stuff, lets get out there!!            

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  • New Year New You

    So you are probably like me and no different to anyone else at the same time….What I mean to say is that in terms of the new years resolutions even though you know its an antiquated concept, you still at least in your head, if not out loud, make some new-you promises. Of course we tell the world that ‘no, I’m not doing resolutions this year’, just going to change this and that, oh and this other thing also, but then deep inside, we secretly tell ourselves that we’ll eat better, train better, go to bed earlier, drink less, argue less…. Basically do more good stuff and less bad stuff. Sound familiar? So why wait, the new you is waiting to emerge, all you need to do is click here…only kidding, but on a serious note, now is definitely the optimum time to get signed up to some self-improvement activities. At LFR you may have noticed that we are running a series of workshops on running form. Fix your form running form for 2016? Sadly its now full, but please check it out, ask questions, and perhaps you can let us know if you’d be interested in a session in the future. https://leightonfunrunners.org.uk/private-members-area/dynamic-movement/ Additionally you could register for the watchless series of races. What is that? Its a 5 mile race where you submit your predicted time in advance then, without a watch, try to run it as close as possible to your prediction, with a global objective of everyone finishing at 12 o'clock. The winner will be therefore the one who is the closest to their prediction and naturally finished closest to 12 o'clock. Register your time here for the 5 or 10 mile races. Better still, these are free for LFR members. https://leightonfunrunners.org.uk/club-activities/watchless/ Also key for any training plan is speedwork. This can come in many shapes and sizes and starting in the new year LFR is organizing a series of ‘fartlek’ speedwork sessions to kick start the speedwork training on Wednesday evenings. Want to know more? https://www.facebook.com/events/811792868946418/ Finally. You may be thinking about how to increase your mileage as part of your new year, new you plans. Well each week for a couple of months now we have been running weekend long runs. Between 10 and 20 miles in distance, the aim is to build up the distance ahead of the marathon season. https://www.facebook.com/events/456891747851743/ So as you can see there’s lots going on, LFR doesn’t stand still, so why not get involved in one of these programs and kick start your new you new year promises.              

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  • Christmas Calories

    So there’s no surprise. The food and drink have been consumed and the guilt has set it. Its that time of year again when most people get to the stage where all their clothes start to fit a bit tighter than normal. Apart from the lucky few exceptions that can eat what they want and never gain weight, balancing energy taken in as food/drink and energy expended as exercise is a tricky business. But why is that? How come its so hard for us to work out the energy content of what we consume and trade that off against some exercise? On Christmas Day the average person in Britain consumes about 7000 calories, although most people think that they are only consuming about 3000 calories! Hmmm, Just think about that…. Perhaps there’s some burial of heads in the sand going on? But that’s a separate problem right there, in the difference between the calories that people think they are consuming and those that they actually do. The average moderately active woman only needs 2000 ~ 2300 calories per day and an average moderately active male 2600 ~ 2800. Therefore it’s very clear why our clothes fit much tighter in January! Even if you try to burn that off, the average calorie spend per mile (running) is only roughly speaking 100, but there’s some other factors to bear in mind of course. But to put that into some sort of perspective, even a moderately fit male would have to run 40 miles just to break even on Christmas day in terms of net calories. When you break down how much exercise you have to do to counterbalance your calories consumed, you might be shocked. (http://www.nutristrategy.com/caloriesburned.htm) But where’s the fun in constantly trying to balance calories in and out? Is it not enough that we run, and try to enjoy some of what life has to offer? I try to take a balanced view. A few over here and a few under there, no point trying to keep track of much more than that if you lead an active lifestyle, but what I’ve found useful is trying to keep in mind just how few calories an exercise burns in reality versus what we think it burns and try to understand what sorts of calorie requirements some sports have. I said calorie requirements for a reason, as to take part in sport you need to be able to be able to spend calories, and so going the other way and not eating much, or not eating carb-rich food, could restrict your ability to partake in the sport. So as is always the case as we head towards January, we start to think about resolutions, and “going on a diet” must be near the top of the nations’ list. However, before going down that road, maybe stop to think about educating yourself with the link above about what the real calorie burn from exercise is, and this may help you make more educated choices, and is better than dieting.  

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  • Why do we run?

    My long run this week was a return to something I didn’t know I missed: Trail Running. Setting out for 13 or so carefree trail miles was fantastic. As soon as I got onto the trail, I could feel the sense of freedom of not being surrounded by cars, or bothering about pace. Just 13 carefree trail miles. In a way it reminded me of what I always liked about running, which is not thinking or focusing on anything, just running through the countryside, taking it all in, letting nature distract me. This made me think that sometimes we possibly lose track of why we run, or more importantly what it is precisely about running that we like. Lets be honest, running can hurt, we sometimes have to get up super-early to do it, and often go out in weather that others consider crazy. Its no wonder that more people don’t give it up.   Running clubs up and down the country will have heard the question a million times over and runners spill out of the club into the cold, wet night… “why are we doing this”? Is it because of the targets we set ourselves? I must run a sub-4 marathon, for example. Not really, as all time based targets are kind of arbitrary, and after we complete one target another one comes immediately afterwards, almost like hitting the first target was not good enough. No, this is not the reason why we run, this is just a carrot we dangle in front of ourselves. What about for health reasons, like to loose weight? Well there are easier ways, and most involve dieting and exercise of some form, with the latter only partially helping. However this seems like only a transitory reason and not one to keep us running week after week on dark, cold and wet nights. There are gyms for this surely?   Perhaps its true that the reasons why we run can change from time to time also. One week we might run to escape stress at home or at work, by freeing ourselves for the hour or so and emptying the mind. Other times we might run for companionship, or as part of a training program to get us to another carrot. Inspiration is another good reason to run, but not what you are thinking. Inspiring yourself. Each run will inspire you in some way and how often have you heard the phrase ‘there’s no such thing as a bad run’. The first person you have to inspire every day is yourself and running will do that. We're all terrible at something in life, so why not make up for it with a strenuous, completely unrelated activity? When you're nothing but a slob at the desk, you can instantly turn yourself around with a quick run. I've never been so low that a run wouldn't snap me out of it. There are no hiding places. Every run makes you fantastic. Once you stop, you're on your own, so it's a better bet to just keep it going. Why not take it a step further and attempt to inspire others not just ourselves? Running is not a private activity. People are watching. Show someone what it's like to want something. Lace up and give them something to believe in.   So the truth about why each runner takes up and continues to run is that its probably for their own very personal reasons, but underpinning these will be a sense of joy…running must bring us joy. If it did not, then we simply wouldn’t do it. Joy found through running fast, or slow, on roads or trails. Joy found from escapism or from companionship; its largely irrelevant, the joy that running brings is why we do it.

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  • Running Technology

    We all know that its good not to run too many miles in single pair of running shoes, most having a life-expectancy of between 300 and 500 miles, with many factors affecting the actual longevity of the running shoes, such as the running gait, your weight, terrain and so on. Running in shoes that have done way too many miles can be detrimental to you as the foam and rubber break down, their elasticity disappears, and even though the shoe may appear to the eye to be in good condition, it could be potentially completely finished from a running perspective. Running in shoes like that, forces you to adopt a less perfect running style, which for a few miles may be ok, but over time, can be a problem and lead to injury and who wants that? I was reminded about a pair of running shoes reaching a certain mileage this week by a piece of technology. On the face of it this may not seem so exciting at all, I mean, you hit 400+ miles in a pair of running shoes and its not exactly a reason to party but all the same it makes you think…this is exactly how technology should be helping us. Often we hear about science and technology and the next ‘big breakthrough’ and two things always sprint to mind. (1) wow that’s cool and (2) How the hell is that supposed to be useful to someone… Often it’s the case that we are fed a diet of technology for the sake of technology, where the usefulness is completely moot, but in this case, for once, technology actually provided tangible benefit. When you stop to think about it though, as runners we are surrounded by technology, from the watches on our wrists to our specialist wicking gear and from the specialist head-torches to the myriad of sports related social media sites we use, but how much if it is truly useful? Taking a deeper look at just how much tech we are surrounded by and you could even be forgiven for saying that as runners, we’ve never had it so good. The gear is lighter than ever, its more waterproof, the batteries last longer, the beam of light is brighter, its more supportive or even the case of the Apple iPod Nano it allows us to carry entire catalogs of music around with us in a package that weighs a couple of grams, whereas at one point not that long ago it would have been a bulky device that permitted 10 tracks or so. But what technology is useful and what is superfluous? Its often said that running is a cheap sport, all you need is a pair of trainers and you can go! Well this is true to some degree, in the same way that to practice swimming all you need is to jump in the river….at some point you may want goals, and gear that enable you to become better at the sport, or you may not. This is the beauty of it. However, technology that enables you to enjoy a sport more comfortably, or helps keep it injury free, this is technology worth having, such as quality waterproof jackets and decent running shoes. Do we really need compression gear? 100,000-track music catalog? What about expensive mineral and vitamin-enriched drinks? Expensive gels? The answer is that some tech is genuinely very useful for all runners and some tech is momentarily cool, with the benefits being somewhat debatable. The feature I was taking about that tells you when your running shoes ‘might’ need changing is on Strava. www.strava.com and I consider it very useful for two reasons. Firstly, as humans, we forget things and secondly we are lazy. Take any pair of running shoes you’ve owned….how many miles have you done in them? Yeah exactly…you’ll never know. So to have a piece of tech seamlessly take the data from your watch, count your miles, then remind you when its time to change….this is worth having! So, if you’re not already on Strava, yet another reason to get yourself on, and join the club there.

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  • Running on Empty

    There was a time when nobody really paid much attention to nutrition within the running world. Performances were defined by ability, not by advantage gained through race-based or training-based nutrition plans. Today of course the world is a different place. Nutrition is a word that more people are familiar with, at a minimum most people within the running community will be aware of the concept of carbs, carb-loading and that poor nutrition can negatively impact performance…but to what extent? There certainly is a lot of information on the Internet concerning diets and nutrition for runners, but is there too much? The plethora of information available can sometimes be confusing, however there are essentially three types of training a runner might undertake, and each will have its own nutritional demands; •           Hard training days and race days•           Moderate intensity training days•           Light training days, cross training or no training Hard daysOn these days, carb intake needs to be higher than normal to meet the very physical demands for energy, and a serving should be included with all main meals. This doesn’t mean, as is often thought, stuffing yourself with carbs at every meal. The portion sizes need to stay the same, but the ratios of carbs/fats/proteins needs to change. Snacks can also be used to boost intake to support high training needs. A low GI breakfast will provide sustained energy during the morning and for a longer run. The increased carbohydrate intake means you should aim to limit fat, but a moderate protein intake should be maintained with each meal. Including an evening meal or snack containing protein is important to help your body recover from a heavy training day and assist muscle growth overnight, as this is when the majority of adaptation will occur. Increase fluid intake to compensate for sweat losses during training and stick to tried and tested foods before setting out on a long run. Regular training daysThe target is to moderate carbohydrates on these days, which would include a serving of carbohydrate at breakfast and lunch only, mainly to fuel training and replenish muscle glycogen stores. Intake can then be reduced in the evening. Meal options should focus on slow release carbs for sustained energy release. Aim for a moderate protein intake as well, a serving of protein should be included with each meal for ongoing muscle growth and repair. Include polyunsaturated fats in your evening meal to promote the function of muscle cells. Foods containing iron should also be included in three meals per week, which is vital for carrying oxygen to the working muscles and supporting energy production during endurance exercise. Low intensity daysCarbohydrate intake should be lower, due to the reduction in training volume. This may mean that only one meal needs to be carbohydrate based. This reduction in training gives the flexibility to use a protein-rich breakfast, which can reduce hunger for the rest of the morning. Intakes of protein from meals and snacks should be high on these days to support ongoing muscle tissue growth and repair in the 24 hours following a heavy training day. Bacon and eggs anyone? So when thinking about a training plan, think about how you can maximise effectiveness with some good nutrition choices also.  Perhaps it also makes sense to think about a nutrition plan to go with it. 

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  • First Cold Snap

    It’s a terribly British thing to talk about the weather. As a student I remember some foreign students laughing about how many people they hear talking about the weather in the UK, which wouldn’t be so bad if it was exceptional for the season, but mostly it was par for the time of year. However, as a runner the weather is a pretty important subject if you don’t want to mess up on a long run or race. Today we hosted a 10mile weekend long run with extra miles to make it up to 14 for those that wanted it. Given the kick-off time of 8am from the clubhouse, most people, myself included, would have put their kit out the night before. This would have been fine had it not been -2°C when I went out to the car. The shorts and T-shirt I’d put out the night before were simply not going to be enough. Time to grab the fleece jacket and gloves. Of those that ran, some were too cold, some were too warm and most didn’t have fluids. So what do we need to keep in mind about the cold weather? The most obvious point concerns the extremities. Cover them. I used to think that as long as you are running, you’ll stay warm enough for it to not be an issue, but that’s completely flawed of course. If it’s cold enough your extremities will simply stay cold if not covered. I learned that the hard way in the South African winter, foolishly assuming it would be warm, only packed shorts and t-shirts to run. The -5°C mornings were just too fresh and it was impossible to maintain heat and my fingers and ears were like ice no matter how long I ran. So in winter, hats and gloves should be definitely in the kit left out the night before. Hydration is another point worth thinking about. When its cold your body works harder than in warmer weather by having more work to do maintaining body temperature especially, if the air is dry also. Just because its cold, however, it doesn’t mean that you don’t sweat. You do, and you loose water and salt through sweat at a greater rate. A lot of runners neglect hydration in winter, possibly thinking that if its cold that you will sweat less. So, remembering hydration in cold weather is key to being able to comfortably complete the runs. Clothing is also very important, especially taking into consideration the fact that you will sweat, therefore wicking sport materials are important if you want to be comfortable. The general advice seems to be put layers on. The ‘base’ layer should be a lightweight wicking top, then depending on the weather either a second layer of fleece or rain jacket. If you get too warm the second layer should be packable or you should be able to tie it round your waist. Chilling is something that we all like to do, but not when its -2°C and you are cooling down rapidly. During the run, keep the regrouping as brief as possible to avoid cooling down too much, and when the run is over its important to change quickly out of the running gear and get warm again.So there’s really no reason to stay inside and skip your run when its cold or when the weather turns bad. There is a famous Scandinavian saying “Det finnes ingen dårlig vær, bare dårlige klær” which in Norwegian means “there’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing”, which is definitely appropriate to us runners.    

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