Altitude Training Options: Mexico

Mexico is a large country stretching from the southern border of the US down to central America. While the country's tourism is centred around it's seaside resorts, a large portion of the country is actually situated above 1,500m of altitude.  Two major mountain ranges - the Sierra Madre Oriental and the Sierra Madre Occidental - run practically the full length of the country, and the elevated plateau that links them contains many places with potential for altitude training.  San Luis Potosi and Mexico City are the most used of these.

San Luis Potosi, a city of approximately 1 million people, has an altitude of 1,860 metres.  It's altitude training offer is based largely around Centro Deportivo La Loma.  La Loma is particularly well equipped for swimmers, and has hosted swim teams from across the world.  It also has facilities for athletics, tennis, boxing, judo and other martial arts, squash, volleyball, basketball and Olympic handball.

Guests stay in an adjacent apartment block, and three meals are included in the daily rate.

Parque Tangamanga I, a large park on the southern of the city, offers some running options, but those looking to clock up high mileage may need to travel to some of the rural areas outside the city.

Mexico City is one of the largest cities in the world.  The sprawling city has an estimated population of approximately 9 million (city proper; metropolitan area population of more than 21 million), and due to this, along with geographical factors, has major air pollution issues.  If you can see beyond the crowds, the pollution and the inevitable traffic jams, Mexico City has a lot to offer in terms of altitude training.

Mexico City is a particularly good place to visit if you want to combine a holiday or cultural trip with some running.  A number of the city's parks are suitable for running, and the large forested areas on the south west of the city make welcome relief from the city.  There is always something to see or do, cost of living is low, and though speaking Spanish is an advantage, it is less important than in other parts of Mexico.

Toluca de Lerdo, at 2,680m above sea level, is the highest city in North America, and is also a well known altitude training spot. It is situated just 66 kilometres from the capital, but is considerably less polluted, cooler, and less crowded than Mexico City.  Some of the best training spots on the south west of Mexico City are also accessible from Toluca.

Mexico City and San Luis Potosi are just two of the fifteen venues featured in Notes from Higher Grounds: An Altitude Training Guide for Endurance Athletes.  The book can be purchased through Amazon for just £20.

A novice's guide to self publishing

I've been sharing my relative wisdom recently with a few individuals who are thinking about going down the self publishing route.  The process of writing, editing and publishing a book was probably the most ambitious project that I ever embarked on, but also one of the more enjoyable experiences I've ever had.  It was a very steep learning curve, and of course there are a few things that I would do differently, but, for me, self publishing was undoubtedly the best way to make Notes from Higher Grounds a reality.

It's just over a year ago since I picked up the first copies of my first book from the printers. In this post I'll share my experiences in getting to that point, and give some advice to those setting out on the book writing process.

1. Is self-publishing the best option for you?

Every aspiring writer will have a few options open to them.  The best option for you will depend on the type of book you're writing (fiction or non-fiction), who your target audience is and how far and wide they are likely to be spread, your skills and abilities, and your ambitions for the book.  Self-publishing gives you considerably more freedom in relation to what you can include, and how you lay out the book, but you must remember the additional work involved in the writing, editing, design and publicity stages of the self publishing process, compared with writing for a publisher.

Money does come into it, but that shouldn't be your only consideration.  If the quality of the book is important to you, you should also consider the skills you already have, and those you feel comfortable in picking up along the way.

I had a very clear idea of how I wanted the book to look from the very beginning and felt that there were things that I wanted to include which may not sit well with a publisher.  I also felt that with such a niche market, I was very unlikely to get the backing of a traditional publisher.   Full colour photos form a key part of my finished product and, therefore, print-on-demand type publishing was never going to be an option (as each copy would cost far too much to publish).  I knew that I could pick up the design skills that I needed along the way, and relished the challenge that came with self-publishing.  I never set about writing the book to make money, and it was always going to be more about the journey and the destination; though the destination was very pleasant indeed.

In reality, there is nothing that a publisher would do that you can't do as a self-publisher.  However, the contacts and skills of an experienced publisher can be invaluable.  Consider all your options, especially the print-on-demand and other less traditional forms of publishing.

2. Everything takes longer than you think

Because I was doing everything myself, - writing, fact checking, layout, editing, images and illustrations, cover design and publishing - there was quite a lot of work to get through, and quite a lot to learn along the way.  While I wouldn't like to admit that I underestimated the work involved, there were definitely times when I forgot that I was doing the work of 5 or 6 people.  When I'd finished writing what I wanted to write, I was only about halfway through the whole process.  The layout and editing in particular took a lot longer than I expected.

Try not to underestimate the work involved, and consider the progress that you're making rather than how much you have left to do.

3. Start editing early

I spent a lot of time deciding whether I should write 'euro' or 'euros' (or indeed 'Euro'), whether or not 'check-in' should have a hyphen, and if the past tense of 'dream' was 'dreamed' or 'dreamt'. Of course, any of these would have been correct; I just had to make a decision and keep it consistent throughout. In the end, I put together a spreadsheet  detailing each of my decisions, which was a useful reference when I came to make similar decisions, or to doublecheck what I'd decided, and it will be a great starting point for my next book.  In hindsight I would have started this spreadsheet at the very beginning, and included any word that I was unsure of right from the start.

Two very useful books, particularly if you decided to use Oxford English, are the New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors and New Hart's Rules.  I found these books invaluable, and would strongly recommend that any new writer invests in a copy of each.  The Oxford online Dictionary was also very helpful and Perfect Punctuation has helped solve some of my punctuation confusion.

Since finishing the book, I have started a Proofreading and Copy Editing course with the Writers Bureau which I am finding invaluable. I am so much more aware of the idiosyncrasies of the English spelling, grammar and punctuation than I was before.

4. Use social media

I have found social media a useful way to network, but I do find myself spending too much time on it. I set up my blog when I started the project, and the bits that I was writing all along were very useful when it came to put the book together.  In fact, I already had about 10,000 words written without realising it.  Knowing that people were reading about my experiences, and enjoying what I had to say, gave me a lot of confidence when it came to write the book.  I set up my website quite soon afterwards, and though it doesn't change much, embedding the blog into it means that I have relatively new material on there on a regular basis.

I also set up a twitter account at an early stage and had grown a considerable audience long before the book was published.  I have had real sales through Twitter, as well as offers of support from other camps.   I am still undecided about whether I should tweet as myself, or as my project.  My account is Altitude Training Camps, my handle is @egansadventures (which came from my blog title: Egan's Altitude Adventures), and I have included my name in my biog.  But there are advantages and disadvantages to this.  Sometimes people that I know can't find me, but using the brand does keep me focused on the purpose of my account. While I originally only used Twitter from the altitude perspective, I have recently connected with the self publishing world, which as an independent author, working on my own, is something that I have found invaluable, and wish I'd done sooner.

I didn't set up my Facebook page until the book was published; having never used Facebook for personal purposes, I was a little uncomfortable with using it.  I found it a little easier to promote/grow my page once I actually had a finished product.  What I would say is that you should set up a 'Page', rather than a 'Profile', when promoting anything on Facebook.  Though the page is linked to your personal profile, nobody viewing the page knows that (though you can invite your friends to 'like' your page), and you don't have to be active on your profile to run a successful page. Embedding a Facebook feed into your website is another way to keep your web content fresh.

I toyed with the idea of using Pinterest, and Instragram would probably have been useful during my travels (but didn't really exist then - how quickly the social media world is evolving!).  I used LinkedIn to let everybody know when the book was published, but apart from that have found it of minimal benefit for this project.  I have a Google+ profile, but this is not something that I have invested too much time into.  I would say that Twitter and Facebook are definitely the big players, and would recommend focusing on them before spending time on any other form of social media.

The photos that I took along the way have been invaluable, not only in the book itself, but in the promotion work that I have done alongside it.  I took thousands of photos, and captured almost every moment of the research phase.  Some video footage would have been a great addition.

4. Start a distribution list early

As you work through the writing process, you will come up with ideas of where you can promote it. By the time you're ready to distribute your press release, you'll have forgotten all the great ideas you had along the way.  Start a spreadsheet and start to jot down all your contacts and potential contacts as you think of them.

5. Don't stress about the actual publishing step

Publishing a book is actually very simple.  Once you know when you're going to publish your book, how long it's going to be, and a few other details, you apply and pay for a bunch of ISBNs from Nielsen. They'll then email you the numbers, and if you're printer is worth their salt, they'll be able to turn it into a barcode for the back of your book.  The information that you submit to Nielsen will automatically be added to book databases such as Amazon.  That's pretty much all that's involved in the publishing phase, and it will take a couple of weeks at the very longest.  Once published, you'll need to send a copy of your book to a couple of libraries.

5. Organise a launch event

The biggest single mistake that I made was not having a launch event.  I was unsure where or when would be best - as I thought that I my target audience was widely distributed.  The timing of publishing (a couple of days before Christmas) didn't help, but in the end I just ended up not having an event.  I have since been surprised by the amount of support I have got locally, and though the people of Wexford weren't my main target, a local launch event would have worked well.  The event doesn't have to be big, or cost a lot, but it will definitely help you spread the word.

Some other basics

Printed books at zero-rated for VAT purposes in both Ireland and the UK.  Printing of books is also zero-rated, but other aspects of the publishing process are not (ISBNs, promotional materials - including printing of flyers, Amazon selling fees, packaging etc.).  Standard postage stamps do not have VAT applied, though courier services do apply VAT. E-books are not zero-rated for VAT. You will not need to register for VAT unless you are likely to exceed the relevant annual income threshold for your government.


I found the following books useful in the editing process.

The following books are also part of my library and were useful reference points. Unfortunately, many of the self-publishing books are written in the US, and hence some parts are not applicable. The first book is UK-based.

Altitude Training Options: Kenya

Kenya is our featured country for January.  This is a great time of year to visit the East African country, either to prepare for international success, or to achieve your own small running and fitness goals, and later this month numerous British Olympians and Olympic hopefuls will we heading out on one of their intensive winter training stints in the Rift Valley town of Iten.

As those who have read my book, or followed my blog, will well know, I have been to Kenya six times (and am well overdue a trip).  To say that I love the place would be an understatement.  It is probably the closest I have found to a home from home.  The Rift Valley is, in my view, second only to the Grand Canyon, in terms of awe inspiring natural beauty, and sitting on it's edge is one of the most relaxing activities one can engage in.  The people are the friendliest I've come across, and the laid-back atmosphere has yet to fail in rejuvenating me or recalibrate for me what is important in life. Even if I wasn't a runner, I think I would find Iten and the surrounding Rift Valley region a great place to visit.

But it is the opportunities that it offers runners, that is the real jewel in Kenya's tourism crown.  The altitude, above 2000m, is perfect for altitude training.  The climate too is almost perfect, and apart from a few weeks of heavy rain, training is possible here almost year round.  The locals may complain about the cold in the winter months, but daytime temperatures rarely drop below 20 degrees, and with low humidity (as a result of the altitude), the weather is rarely unpleasant for training.

Most roads are unsealed, undulating dirt roads that meander through the countryside, and even the surfaced main roads have dirt trails alongside them, so there is no shortage of forgiving surfaces on which to complete high volumes of training. Many of the tracks are dirt too, though Lornah Kiplagat has recently opened a Tartan track in Iten for guests of her world famous HATC.

Training facilities are improving all the time, and since it opened in 1999, Lornah Kiplagat's HATC has continued to develop to meet the needs of its foreign guests.  It does, however, maintain a distintively African feel, and guests have the opportunity to sample Kenyan food and way of life in relative comfort.  There is an outdoor swimming pool and a well equipped gym at the camp.

While Lornah's place is well established and well known, on the other side of Eldoret (next to Eldoret Airport) is the Rift Valley Resource Centre, a relative newcomer to Kenya's altitude training offer. This centre, located in Mosoriot, is open to students, athletes and community volunteers.  Lel, Cheryiout and Rotich are among the athletes who have trained on the nearby trails.  The centre has links with a number of local schools, health clinics and community projects, and visitors may have the opportunity to volunteer during their stay.

Further information on training in Kenya can be viewed on some of my previous posts, including the following summary post about Training in Kenya, and these reports from my visit in 2010: This is Kenya and Jambo Sana.

Iten, Kenya is just one of the venues featured in Notes from Higher Grounds: An Altitude Training Guide for Endurance Athletes. Other training sites in Kenya also receive a mention.

Last Minute Christmas Gift Ideas for Runners

Those of you who've read my book, or followed my blog from the beginning will know that I've got a little bit of an obsession with books.  And I'm mad into that running malarkey! And Christmas is fast approaching. With that in mind, this post is all about running books and related gifts that you can buy for the runner in your life, or, of course, for yourself.

5. Town of Runners (DVD; Jerry Rothwell)

I went along to watch this movie in London when it was released in 2012, and was instantly reminded of the beauty of Ethiopia.  The documentary tracks the progress of a group of young athletes from Bekoji, Ethiopia - the town which has produced such distance running legends as Kenenisa Bekele and Tirunesh Dibaba - and portrays some of the difficulties encountered by those wishing to follow in the footsteps of their heroes.  Ethiopia is beautiful, Ethiopian running is beautiful, and this story will, no doubt, have you wanting to visit the East African highlands.

4. Wild Running: 150 Great Adventures on the Trails and Fells of Britain (Jen Benson and Sim Benson)

This is a guidebook for those who dream of exploring Britain's forest, mountain and coastal trails.  It includes 150 hand-picked runs, chosen for their sensational beauty and simple navigation, for those looking for a relaxed, scenic run, or a 'hard-as-nails' challenge.  Route maps, photographs and trail descriptions are included, along with information on safety and training advice.  Ideal gift for anybody who enjoys running off-road.

3. From Last to First (Charlie Spedding)

There are far too many running autobiographies to mention, and to be honest, I was starting to feel that once you read one, you'd read them all.  That was until I read this simple, yet inspiring and useful book. In telling his life story, Spedding shares useful tips and advice, and the alternative approach to autobiography will have inspired to train like never before.

2. Believe Training Journal (Lauren Fleshman and Roisin McGettigan-Dumas)

This is a great gift for any female runner.  The year-long journal, written by two professional athletes who have been there and done that, inspires and educates, covering an important aspect of training each month - from goal setting and setbacks to nutrition and body image.  The journal isn't dates, so can be used at any time of  the year, but what better time to get stuck in than when the new year begins?

1. Notes from Higher Grounds (Elizabeth Egan - yes that's me!)

It would be a bit daft for me to write a blog about running books and gifts and not put my own publication in the number 1 spot.  This book is all about altitude training destinations; it is a sort of travel guide for runners, but isn't just for serious athletes.  Anybody that has ever dreamed of training with the Kenyans, or running along endless mountain trails will love this book.  I was whole-heartedly passionate about this project from the very beginning, and four years later, published a book full of tips, photos and advice to inspire other athletes to use running to explore the world.

Altitude Training Options: South Africa and Lesotho

South Africa’s diverse natural beauty and pleasant climate (most of the year) make it a popular tourist destination.  It’s colourful political past also make it an interesting place to visit, and once you’ve saved for the airfare, travel is relatively cheap.  Security and personal safety are, however, always a concern, and visitors should take reasonable precautions against crime, particularly in the large cities.  Trips can be very rewarding, and facilities are generally better than elsewhere in Africa.  Best of all, South Africa provides a great opportunity to train in a warm, pleasant climate during the northern hemisphere winter.

Potchefstroom
Potchefstroom is possibly the best known of the altitude training destinations in South Africa, but, while the facilities there are excellent, at 1,350m above sea level it is hardly high enough to initiate an altitude training response.

Dullstroom

The small tourist town of Dullstroom (2,080m), located east of Johannesburg, is a much less well known training spot, but has a greater variety of trails, is safer, has an excellent choice of holiday accommodation, and is considerably higher.  The area is particularly beautiful, but lacks a track and other training facilities.

Photos from my trips to Potchefstroom and Dullstroom can be viewed here. There are blogs from South Africa  here, here, here and here.

Pretoria
Somewhere that has excellent facilities for many sports is the High Performance Centre (www.hpc.co.za) at the University of Pretoria, where there is more than 70 hectares of land dedicated to sports facilities.  The centre’s altitude is approximately 1,350m, with areas up to 1,500m within the city.

Johannesburg
Johannesburg also has some altitude training possibilities, though the city’s reputation for crime is a major turn-off for foreign visitors.

Lesotho
The entire area of Lesotho, a small country which is completely surrounded by South Africa, sits above 1,400 m of altitude.  Covered with rugged mountains and spectacular scenery, Lesotho has a massive tourism potential, and authorities there are beginning to develop altitude training opportunities.  AfriSki resort (3,030m) and Mohale Village (2,200m) are among the currently available options.

Adriaan Geldenhuys wrote a guest blog on altitude training in Lesotho for us in 2013.

Potchefstroom and Dullstroom are detailed in Notes from Higher Grounds: An Altitude Training Guide for Endurance Athletes.  The book also contains further information on training options in Pretoria and Lesotho.

Altitude Training Options: Ethiopia

Ethiopia is less well known as an altitude training destination than neighbouring Kenya, but the opening of excellent training facilities like Yaya Village and the success of the 2012 film Town of Runners have done much to increase the country’s appeal.  Indeed, Ethiopia’s tourism potential across the board is considerably underdeveloped, and many are surprised to learn of the country’s beauty, cultural diversity, and friendlessness, and that Ethiopia has nine UNESCO world heritage sites!

Sululta, a small town just 11 kilometres north of Addis Ababa, is where many of the athletes who live in the capital carry out their daily training sessions.  It is also home to Yaya Village, a purpose-built training resort which has attracted athletes from across the world since it opened in 2011.  The eucalyptus forests, dirt roads, and grass clearings make for varied running terrain, and the recent opening of a synthetic track, owned by multiple Olympic Champion and world record holder Kenenisa Bekele, is a significant addition for those with a need for speed. 

Those who want to get to the real heart grass roots Ethiopian distance running can visit Bekoji, aka Town of Runners, a small town south west of Addis Ababa.  The town has produced athletes who, between them, have won 10 Olympic gold medals, broken more than a dozen world records, and won more than 30 world championship titles.  Derartu Tulu, Kenenisa and Tariku Bekele, and Ejegayehu, Tirunesh and Genzebe Dibaba.  Visitors to the town have the opportunity to watch the next generation of world-beaters train, and to meet the coach who guided the aforementioned stars in their earlier years.

The Great Ethiopian Run is the largest road race in Africa, and each year it attracts hundreds of overseas participants wishing to test themselves against the altitude, the heat, and more than 10,000 other runners and joggers.

Blogs from my 2010 visit include: Ethiopia by Picture, Farewell Africa...For Now,  This is Ethiopia, Can I be a 'Funrunner' for a Day?, The Carb Queen is Dead and Gone,  and Addis, while during my 2014 visit I blogged about meeting Haile Gebreselaise, wrote about my trip to Bekoji, and summarised my trip in a photo blog. Shane Benzie from Running Reborn wrote a guest piece about training in Bekoji for us in July, 2014.

Additional photos can be viewed here (2014 visit) and here (2010 visit).

More information on altitude training in Ethiopia, and details  of how to arrange a trip there can be found in Notes from Higher Grounds: an Altitude Training Guide for Endurance Athletes.

Altitude Training Options: Rest of Europe

Over the past few months, I have posted brief summaries of altitude training options in France and Andorra, Spain and the Canary Islands, and Switzerland.  In this post, I look at some of the other options for altitude training across Europe and summarise the general pros and cons of training on the continent.

Cons

The mountainous areas of Continental Europe provide scenic training options; however, unlike the Rift Valley or the elevated Plateaus found in North America, these options are mountainous, and not particularly suited for those who don’t fancy running up and down the side of a mountain. Additionally, because of Europe’s distance from the equator, the snow-free season is relatively short, and, at best, stretches from April to September. Most of the available options are based in ski resorts, making them expensive compared to African or North American options.  There are few options to live above 2,000m.

Pros

Despite the above drawbacks, there are many advantages to staying in Europe for altitude training.  Budget airlines operate regular flights to most European cities, so getting there, at least, can be relatively cheap.  Even Teneriffe, the furthest away the European options, is served by Ryanair flights from the UK and elsewhere.  As mentioned previously, the European mountains are particularly beautiful, as tranquil glacial lakes contrast with the dramatic mountainous landscape.  The pine forests, with well-groomed trails, that cover many of the mountainous regions, are ideal for care-free off-road running.  There are endless opportunities for trail and fell runners, and trails are generally located close to the hotel and accommodation options.  Europe also offers numerous ‘live high; train low’ options.  There are few safety issues.  And for track runners, getting out races on the European circuit is generally quite easy.

Some of the options available include

• Turracher Hohe, Austria (1,763m) – A small ski resort approximately 60 km north-west of Klagenfurt.
• Kuhtai, Austria (2,020m) – A well-equipped, visitor-friendly resort located just 40 km west of Innsbruck. 
• Rila Mountains, Bulgaria (2,050m) – An isolated area with a well-equipped sports facility specifically designed for altitude training.
• Sestriere, Italy (2,035m) – A ski resort in the Italian Alps close to the French border, which boasts an athletics track, and is popular among road cyclists and racewalkers.
• Livigno, Italy (1,816m) – A ski resort in Lomardy, close to the Swiss border, which is particularly appealing to mountain bikers.

If you know of any other altitude training hotspots in Europe, please let us know.  We'd love to share with our community.

Altitude Training Options in Spain

Sierra Nevada in southern Spain is one of Europe’s best known altitude training destinations alongside Font Romeu in France and St. Moritz in Switzerland,  The excellent facilities at CAR Sierra Nevada make it a good option for a variety of sports, but the lack of suitable trails means that it doesn't attract the same number of distance runners as the other aforementioned options.

Another Spanish option is Tenerife in the Canary Islands.  Mount Teide, an active volcano in the centre of the island, is particularly popular among professional cyclists.  The weather and the ability to ‘live high; train low’ are among the draws.  However, the expensive Parador Hotel de Canadas del Teide (2,146 m) is the only accommodation option at altitude, and it’s quite isolated from ‘civilisation’.

Sierra Nevada is one of the options featured in Notes from Higher Grounds: An Altitude Training Guide for Endurance Athletes, and further details of CAR Sierra Nevada can be found on www.carsierranevada.com.

Blog reports from my visit to Sierra Nevada can be found here and here.

Featured Country of the Month: Morocco

Over the course of September we featured Morocco as an altitude training destination.  The North African country has a rich distance running history, and though the reputation of many of their champions has been marred by less than exemplary doping records, there is no doubt but that the residents of Ifrane, the most popular of it’s altitude training destinations, appreciate and understand athletics.

Ifrane is a small town situated at 1665m of altitude in the Middle Atlas.  It has a track, a good variety of trails, and other facilities for athletes.   It’s functions as a university town, ski resort and as a tourist rest spot, means that there are good restaurants and some comfortable hotels and apartments, and cheap budget flights to Fez, less than an hour away, make it an easily accessible option for European athletes looking to try something a little bit different.



Large areas of the country are mountainous, and adventurous runners will find many more training options, particularly well suited to trail and fell runners, within the Middle and High Atlas Mountains.  Earlier in September Howard Chambers wrote guest post for us on the relative merits of Imlil as an altitude training spot.



Ifrane one of 15 venues featured in my book Notes from Higher Grounds: An Altitude Training Guide for Distance Runners, which can be purchased on Amazon for just £20.  Below is a sneak peak of the Ifrane chapter of the book.


Photos from my visit can be viewed on both Facebook and FlickR

And blog posts detailing my experiences in the town can be viewed here and here.

Guest blog 8: Howard Chambers on Imlil in Morocco

To coincide with our Featured Country of the Month focus on Morocco, the latest guest blog post is a short piece about Imlil in Atlas Mountains, thanks to Howard Chambers of The Right Altitude.  I've not visited, but if the pictures are anything to go by, it looks like a beautiful option, particularly for trail runners.

Set at 1,820 metres, the village of Imlil sits below the towering Mount Toubkal, the highest mountain in Morocco and in fact North Africa. Imlil, and its surrounding valleys, is a world apart from the bustle of the city, and a place of peace and seclusion.

The high Berber villages in this region are connected by centuries-old donkey tracks and are still the only way of accessing many of the most remote mountain villages. These paths and tracks offer an unparalleled running experience for the trail runner wanting to train at altitude.

The area offers all year round opportunities, though snow often lies low into the valleys in mid-winter, but summers are much cooler than temperatures than low lying Marrakech with an alleged 300 days of sunshine.

The area also offers a yearly Etape cycle ride and is regarded as one of the toughest in the calendar, with some 40k of ascent to the ski slopes close by.

Thanks to Howard for the information and beautiful photos.  Imlil is located approximately 60 km south Marrakesch, and can be reached by grand taxi through the foothills of the High Atlas Mountains.  Budget airlines Ryanair and Easyjet operate flights to Marrakesch from the UK.  Luxury accommodation is available in the Kasbah (pictured above).