I was so fortunate to go to Louisville KY this August to watch my dear friend Amy, as well as John and Janel, as they competed in the FULL Ironman! I flew down with one of my favorite people, Sheridan, and we became "official spectators" as she refers to us as, in her very eloquent and poignant recap of the weekends events.
I share this with you, because as an athlete, a triathlete, witnessing an Ironman is an experience all of us should do in a lifetime.
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Louisville Ironman: An athlete's perspective to the "other side"; the spectator.
-By Sheridan aka Rolo
First of all, I didn't know how I would feel being a spectator because, let's be honest, we're athletes, we like to compete. But I also know that as that athlete during a race, I thrive on the connection with the spectators. My family and friends that sacrifice their day (and sleep) to support me, the countless fans cheering everyone on, and the others I like to call my fairy godpeople that I happen upon during every race I have done. The ones that come out of nowhere to offer a body to lean on to stretch, an encouraging yell, and the smiles...I thrive on the smiles. So I took this as an opportunity to give back and see the "other side". And there is definitely another side! When you are competing, you are focused on yourself and your needs. You have no idea what is going on in the "other side", the spectator scene. I have to force myself not to think about what my family is going to do in between the flashes they get of me during a race because there is so much time spent waiting. But here is where the opportunity is, because it is not really waiting at all. If you jump on the spectator bus, you have countless people to cheer. It is infectious. So that is what Meghan and I did...we joined the scene. Hook, line and sinker!
We arose at 3:40AM to Meghan's cell saying, "answer the phone, this is yur mahtha."(have you heard her ringer?) We should have known Amy would leave before the 3:50 time she said she would go. So we jumped out of bed and sprinted barefoot, well I did, you know Meghan and her feet issues... to the lobby to see Amy and John off. They were ready. So ready that John already had his swim cap and goggles on (the start was at 7AM). "Preparation is the key to life" my father says... We sent them off with emotional hugs and kisses with a promise to see them at the start.
We went back to bed for an hour, then it was time to suit up. Meghan and I took this support team seriously, with matching outfits and temporary Ironman tattoos. She even french braided my hair like hers. We were the Ironman Bopsy Twins, or perhaps Thing 1 and Thing 2. We decided to run to the start of the swim about a 5K away (if you had seen what we ate for dinner, you would've run too). This is where the "other side" of Ironman really started to sink in. There were hundreds of people walking before the sunrise to see their people. With bells, signs, banners, balloons, you name it, we probably saw it. Incredible. They are a dedicated bunch. The start site was amazing. Athletes and fans milling about in the dark with the music rocking. Our mission: find the gang. Since they left so early and it was a first come, first served line up for a time trial start, we figured they would be up near the beginning. No luck. We studied the line and were getting nervous. I didn't get the sense they were there, so we traced the line back, looking for what seemed like forever. Then Meghan said I know Amy is near. This is where you know their connection runs deep because a few seconds later, there they were. It makes sense, Amy is our Yoda... And the good news is, John is still prepared with his cap and goggles on...(Giggle giggle). And Dale and Sharon got there too, so we all got to give our hugs and other ceremonial type things we do...(AKA, weird superstitious mumbo jumbo).
So glad Amy and John were together, they are peas in a pod and I think they were a great help to each other that morning. Then we were off to find Janel down the line. I had actually never met Janel, but I heard she was a doll. This turns out to be true! She was lit up like a Christmas tree, smiling. And the cute friend John and Amy said was with her turned out to be Ali, my girls' first babysitter! That was a bonus! She was there with her brother, John, so we had more peeps to add to our family of competitors. Excellent. Then off went the gun!
Now this start was different. It was not a wave start with your set time. They lined up two by two it seemed and when the gun went off, the athletes went down the dock every 2 seconds. It was quick, so even though we were far back in the line with Janel and her gang, it really started to move. The line looked like the people mover at the airport amidst the crowd of spectators, except every one had on either a red or white cap, like a Talking Head's video from the 80's. We went back to the start to take it all in. Once they got down on the dock, there was no turning back. There were two finger docks off of the main dock the athletes went down to get in. It was not a ramp...they jumped in. It was a bit odd watching. The water was murky and they looked like the elves jumping in chocolate from Willy Wonka's factory, but I couldn't dwell on my water issues, we had work to do. We were Ironman Spectators: professionals.
We ran back alongside the masses of people walking to T1. Taking photos and looking out over the river at the first swimmers going by. BTW the first chick did the swim faster than my 70.3 swim... Moving on... We parked ourselves in front of Amy's bike row and waited, but remember, we weren't waiting, we were professional Ironman Spectators and the people on either side of us suffered some hearing loss and perhaps some entertainment as they eavesdropped on Meghan and I while we quietly commented on some of the outfits and various other things I like to refer to as the "I'm so perfect, I can make fun of people" game.
It was also satisfying my appetite for porn. Bike porn that is (had to snap you back to attention, this story is long...) I love bikes and there were some reeeeaally nice bikes. Then we got our first fill of family cheering as Janel ran by to her bike, smiling and adorable and apparently sharing something about her shorts that Meghan got on film and perhaps Janel would clarify... Anyway, then came Amy, looking smooth, ready and beautiful. Off she went with 3 kisses blown her way. We missed John somehow, but got to see the chute where people mount their bikes and start the 112 miles through horse country and treeless roads with full sun. Exciting and nerve racking as there was more than one pile up coming out of T1 with over zeolous riders. Keep this in mind future IM seekers (hint hint), take it easy at the start of the bike, plenty o time to fly.
Fast forward... there was really no way to watch them on the bike as we heard the shuttle was stuffed and very crowded once you got to the location to see them so we took some time, went back to the hotel so Meghan could attempt to labor away the sufferings of too much junk food the night before and got ready for the run instead.
Meghan and I intended to meet them back at transition, but Dale and Sharon were there so we found a great spot about a mile into the run so we could see them twice because they ran over a bridge to Indiana and right back again. This is where the hook, line and sinker mentioned above really sunk in. We were there over 4 hours I think? It didn't seem like it at all.
We cheered for every person going by. When there was a family there, and they first saw their athlete come down the stretch, they jumped for joy cheering, and we got drawn into their emotion. Sometimes the athlete would stop and hug them... wives, husbands, children, moms, dads, all of them and when they ran off again, Meghan and I were crying.
We understand.
These are the people who enable you to train, support you when you are down, high five you when you are up. They are part of your journey. They are the "other side". They would pack up their gang and move to their next cheering spot, loyal and ever supportive. Like the fast forward photography they use to show crowds changing guard, people were coming and going, but Meghan and I remained.
Where were our people? They weren't getting to the 70 mile check point on the athlete tracker when we expected them to. John had, but he didn't get to T2 when we thought. No sign of the rest of the gang. We were getting a bit worried, it was very hot. I felt pretty powerless. I had all of my lucky charms that I wear when I compete in my bag, but I didn't have them on, so I put them on. Anything... just get our people home. We continued to cheer (and cry) for all of these amazing athletes turning their legs over on the run after a grueling day on the bike.
Then we got news. John was on the run!!! Yippee! We had mapped out our plan to run along side of him up over the bridge. So we went out to cheer him and instead of letting us go by to join him on the run, he stopped and embraced both of us. And by embrace, I really mean it, this man is strong. He is overjoyed. He is elated. He is every word for it in the thesaurus. He was on his way to being an Ironman. We ran along side of him for a bit chatting him up. He is the most thankful, jolly human. I love John. So now we were recharged, and the news was good, Amy was on her way too.
We went back to our spot and thanked the man who watched our stuff and just in time to cheer his son on. Remember we are Ironman Spectators, their family was our family. But I will admit, it wasn't as loud on that corner when we were waiting for Amy, we were concentrating, looking for our girl. Where was she? It was nerve racking because we didn't know her outfit.
Luckily Dale was in TI and sent a message she was on the run! Wearing a red polka dotted skirt, of course...skirt girl. We would see her any minute! Meghan was getting her camera ready to shoot so she could drop it and run with her. I was down at ground level, looking through the sea of legs for the polka dotted skirt, Like Babar looking for the man with the moustache in Babar Loses His Crown. There she was! I jumped out on the course, and ran around in circles, chasing my tail like my dog when we get home from school. I couldn't wait to see her! I lost track of Meghan, but I assume she got some shots (she really is amazing with the lense) and I waited across the street, jumping and yelling Amy's name over and over! She looked up from her visor and smiled, hands in the air, happy girl!
Meghan appeared and we ran along side of her. I don't really remember all we said at first, I was so excited, but this I will never forget...I was next to her talking her up, encouraging words...and I reached out and touched her arm and there it was, "No! Don't touch me, I could get disqualified" Surprise, surprise, IronAmy read the rules, and nothing would get in her way that day. She was prepared. I felt horrible for a second for touching and worrying her, and then I remembered John's maximum embrace directly in front of the IronPerson on course in charge of directing the athletes and I got over it, but I didn't share that with her. I respected her wishes and we guided her up the hill on the bridge.
She was telling us about the ride and how hot it was and that she felt crappy (pukey was the word I think she used, but hey, she's doing an Ironman, she can make up words) The kicker was she wasn't able to drink and keep stuff down. Mayday. We reminded her how important it was to drink and eat and she agreed and kept going. This girl is rock solid and on a mission, even though she felt like poo (keepin' it clean people, shocker, I know). And I think it is important to add here that, even though she admitted to feeling like said poo, she still had this beauty about her. IronAmy, pukey and beautiful. Amazing. Then here came the gift with purchase, we were going along with Amy, watching her get the rally cap on, and here comes Janel! Still adorable, still lit up like a Christmas tree! This girl is stoked!
We were so glad to see both of them in one shot. Janel looked good and kept going on her merry way. We got some more time with Amy, as her tummy was not happy, but not for long, because believe me when I say this, nothing, not a tummy, a blister, an earthquake, nothing was going to stop this IronAmy. She was going to do this thing. And she started to run! Off she went with us hollering after her. "Go girl! And you have the nicest touchis (clean-speak) on the course! And the best skirt!" Of course this got the athletes rallied around her in agreement. Hehe. Hey, all bets were off at this point, as a professional Ironman Spectator, we say what we gotta say, and besides, we speak the truth...she has a nice ass. Oops, I mean touchis.
We waited to see Janel and Amy come back over the bridge to give them one last send off before we saw them at the next spot and I came up with our theme song for the day. "Put one foot in front of the other, and soon you'll be walkin' cross the floor" (Santa Claus is Comin' to Town). I sang it to Amy as she ran by giving us a wave, rather screeched it as my voice was beginning to suffer the costs of being a professional Ironman Spectator. Of course, she was being careful not to get to close to us for fear of another touch and her being disqualified. Snicker, snicker (love you girl).
We were blessed to see our people and we were united with Dale at the corner we had grown rather attached to. We had cheered countless athletes there, all with a story, all with a goal. Our cup runeth over and we had some time to kill. What to do...hmm, refuel said cup. This Ironman Spectator thing is tough and we had to keep our energy up... Off to the pub, Patrick O'Shea's to be exact, which hopefully Meghan will include the photos of our journey to and into the bathroom. It was the most peculiar bathroom I have seen. Either that or I was suffering from heat stroke and anything looked good at that point. We ordered up some chow and established our game plan. This would prove difficult. You see, not only did the course maps suck in that they didn't give mileage to gage where we may re-unite with our athletes, the race tracker was in sloth mode. This required the heavy guns.
I called my mom. She is the epitome of professional Ironman Spectator. For my races, she has it all traced out in advance with google maps zoomed in on each watch point on the entire course. Her plan of attack is always in place and do not, I repeat, do not get in her way on race day. It makes me very thankful she is there to guide everyone and also a teensy bit thankful that I am competing and somewhat removed from the "other side" at that point... Anyway, I digress... I had her go to the Ironman site, print the run course and street directions, then take those to Map My Ride to map the course and the mileage so we could merge that with athlete tracker's info and figure out what time to be at the corner where the runners would go by twice.
After many texts, a few phone calls, and a somewhat patient and hungry dad, my mom pulled through with the mileage on the course and the tracker info. She is beyond good, she is awesome. All the way from Vermont, she is part of the "other side" and to be fair, so is my dad. He is the guy that leaves articles on my desk from his precious Wall Street Journal regarding triathlons and the next big thing (ultra's according to WSJ) Who knew there was a sports section anyway. He is the guy that brought the stopwatch to the track when I was a kid. He is the guy with the signs on the course that he takes great care in writing. Although he might not admit it, he is part of the "other side" as well, which is why he grilled the food while mom did her magic. Thanks dad.
My husband, Roger, who cashed in our airline and Marriot points for Meghan and myself. He helped make this Ironman Spectator moment happen in the first place. Which reminds me the vastness of the "other side". All of our friends at home, glued to the computer and keeping abreast with Meghan's updates. All of the athlete's friends for that matter following along at home, contributing to the tracker lock-up perhaps. It shows the exponential support of the "other side".
So we were fed, watered, highly entertained by the bathroom and fresh with a plan. There was a check in at mile 13, so we knew the corner after that was mile 14 so there we would go gifted with the confidence they had not passed by yet.
Well, except for Janel...she had her go fast shoes on and we were very sorry to miss that smiley face again. I hope her family got to see her finish. But I fast forward again, first we had to go retrieve the bikes out of T2, and walk off the second junk food session of the weekend. We went along the run course back to the start and shifted right back into cheer mode. These people needed it, big time. They had been on the bike forever and they were struggling. At T2, we were too early for the bike pick up so we did an about face back to the run course, but we got to see some of the late arrival cyclists coming in. These people were almost down to the wire, the cutoff, but they rode with the same drive as the pros, perhaps even more so. You could see it in their eyes. They were going to do this thing, or go down trying. We cheered them on as we walked. We retraced our steps along the run course to our 14 mile corner.
It was here I think we got our Ironman Spectator wings.
You see there was this man, walking right after the bridge where we had seen our people a couple of hours before. It was maybe 2 miles into the run, it was 6:20PM. He was not smiling, actually his head was down and he had the look of defeat. For a bit we were silent, looking at one another, feeling powerless. What to do? He was right next to us. On his calf? The number 60. He was 60 years old. And under that? An Ironman tattoo with Kona underneath. This man had been there, he had seen the glory. We continued along side of him. His face was weathered and I couldn't tell if he would appreciate our cheers and we were afraid to speak aside from a few words of encouragement which were received with a negative shake of his head. Then we took a different approach.
His jersey said Annapolis so I said, "Hey, I've done some sailing down there. Do you sail?"
What's that? A reaction? Yes, it is...and an answer.
He sailed indeed, in the navy for 25 years (confirming the weathered look) and he said he didn't need that anymore, but this time, he smiled. We were in! We chatted him up and got him laughing and then Meghan said the magic words. This little cutie with a nice, you know, a three letter word mentioned above also meaning touchis, passed weathered, 60 year old, retired navy, kona finisher guy and Meghan said, "Are you going to let that little thing pass you? Go on, go get her!"
He laughed and then guess what?
He started to run!!!
We were under the overpass which provided the perfect acoustics for my theme song in full volume. I let it rip, screaming about feet in front of the other and he kept on going, off with a wave of his hand, under the overpass in pursuit of the touchis and hopefully more Ironman glory. I hope that we were his Ironman fairy godpeople. We had many of these moments throughout the day, but this man stuck with us. This Ironman Spectator thing, this "other side", was proving to be one of the better moments in my life.
On to the corner at mile 14 which was just beyond the overpass. It was also a lap point so we were able to cheer the people just past the half marathon point, and also the people just starting out on the run. These runners needed all the encouragement they could get. It was 6:30, they had until midnight, and they had 23 miles to go. Wow. They trickled by and we sent all of the positive vibes we could muster their way. Plus we had to direct them because they were somewhat delirious at this point, and the course was not marked well at the intersection, a couple of them ran the wrong way and we retrieved them and sent them off. Poor things.
At this point, I have to admit, I think we were getting anxious. We were all at this corner, Meghan, myself, Dale and Sharon. Together and taxed. I get like this racing sometimes. Impatient perhaps. We knew they hadn't gotten past the 13 mile check point, yet the tracker was frozen and we just had to trust we would see them. Trust that we would see Amy's polka dotted skirt and John's baggy shorts. This impatience broke us up.
First Meghan had to go, then Dale, then Sharon. They had to walk, like movement would bring the result we wanted. I just stood there, watching. Looking for the polka dotted skirt. Where was the polka dotted skirt? I still cheered for the runners, I was still moved by them stopping to connect with their families, but I rang my bell and my plastic clapper thingy with a different tone. Like I was sending out a battle cry.
Fight my friends, fight. Don't let the heat get the best of you. Fight.
Well fight they did because I got a text from Meghan saying, "Amy's coming, I'm with her!" Whoo hoo, and thank God! I smiled at the cop on the corner and asked him to watch our stuff and prepared for another run along side of our girl. Reminding myself to keep a safe distance of course, no touching.... which reminds me... I had gotten a howler text in all capitals earlier from my mother saying, "YOU CAN'T TOUCH AMY BECAUSE SHE COULD GET DISQUALIFIED!" Phrase of the day, "Can't Touch This"...thanks MC Hammer. (Snicker Snort). But running with her is legal, so run we did.
She looked good. We reminded her that the end was near, she could taste it. She was going to be an Ironman. I told her about some cool Ironman tattoos I saw and how close she was to being able to get one, that is, if she wanted one. This conversation involved a pinkie promise, an air pinky promise...remember, no touching. (Snicker snicker snort). I won't get into this promise in case my dad reads this, he is not a fan of tattoos... And off she went. I was so proud of her, thinking back to the beginning of the run and how (pukey) she felt, yet there she was, still running, still on a mission. Incredible.
I turned to run back to our corner and the second gift with purchase of the day: Ali! This girl's smile is contagious. It goes from ear to ear and twinkles her eyes. She was running great, hurt knee and all. I sprinted ahead and snapped some photos of her and then ran along side of her. I met this girl when she was 18 maybe? She would watch our girls regularly on Sunday's in the fall when we would go sailing. She was a peach and a rock star athlete in high school, a field hockey champ. I would call her to watch the girls and if she was busy, it wasn't because she had regular 18 year old plans...no, she was tutoring someone in math. She is from the "can she be real?" stock. Well, yes she is and now she was a triathlete about to finish her first Ironman at 26. She apparently read Oh! the Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss because she is living it and I was so happy to be able to watch it happen. I must add here that her brother, John, with evidence from a morning photo at the swim start, has the same smile. It must be a family trait, triathletes and smiles.
I jogged back to the corner and reunited with Meghan and Dale. I should say at this point we didn't see John at the corner. I don't know when he ran by. Maybe he snuck through because we were so obnoxious the first time and the hug cost him so much energy (I'm not kidding, it was the hug of the century) and he didn't want to face us again. Who knows, but seeing him finish made up for that, for sure.
Instead, with time to kill before the finish, we went back to get the bikes out of lock up. I only tell you this because it provides more evidence to the extent of John's preparation. I had to strip his bike for shipping, and in his saddle bag were upwards of 7 CO2 cartridges and two more on his bottle cage. The man was ready to ride on nails. Good thing he didn't find any and good thing I chose to leave the cartridges with the bike or John may have found himself in the airport jail. Thank me later, John. (Triple snicker snort).
What happens next? The finish folks. That's right, this story might end sometime. Hey, I AM writing about an Ironman, mind you, not a sprint. The first one for our athletes and ours as professional Ironman Spectators. These things take time. It is worth it though because the finish line in person is one million, delete, three million(more appropriate for this venue) times better than watching the Ironman on the US/NBC channel over and over on New Year's Day. It is electric. It is the pinnacle of our sport, aside from Kona, and arguably of any sport (don't tell the ultra's, I shy away from controversy).
Meghan and I had a front row seat on the finishing chute. We didn't at first, but we lifted our arms and shared the essence of how seriously we took our professional Ironman Spectator status and miraculously that essence, rather aroma, parted the crowd like the red sea and we were ringside, where we belonged. I cannot express the emotion.
Suffice it to say I was glad I don't wear much eye makeup, because I would've been renamed Alice Cooper. Every one who ran by had it written all over their face. Joy, tears, awe, we saw it all. We saw a man go by who looked like he had ridden a horse for days, uncomfortable, but still running and guess what...it was his 105th Ironman. Those of you who know me well, know I didn't say holy cow when I heard that. FUDGE will work for now...
We saw a man skip down the chute(that had to hurt), a couple of costumes, including a pirate. Speaking of horses, a guy rode through the chute riding the horsey head on a stick toy from childhood. That had to have been planned because all of the stores were closed at that point...
We saw a man with an ALS kit run by and got to witness him roll over the finish line. (Tissues for sure). We felt connected to the athletes as they ran by high fiving all of us down the line, graciously validating our support. We saw some, with the finish line on their tastebuds, stop to give a final hug to each and every one of their family and friends that came to support them. (More tissues). It is here where the athlete and the "other side" unite. Their exhaustion evaporates and they are carried on the wings of the spectator's cheers. There is no pain, only glory and love. I know this, because I have been on the finish line of many a race, I have felt the cheers carry me home. I can only dream at this point the feeling of an Ironman finish and trust me, just that dream has had me in tears pulling into my driveway after a long run where I visualized the thrill of an Ironman finish on the last hill home.
Now it was our turn to be the wings. I mentioned above about Amy being our Yoda, well as a childhood Star Wars fan, I totally trust the force and I was channeling that big time towards our people. We had no idea where they were now because Ironmanlive.com was frozen so we really did have to trust the force. It was all we had. We got our first taste with Ali's brother, John. He didn't hear us, but that's ok, we were part of that collective "other side" remember.
Then came John T. Oh my goodness, I think Meghan and I smacked heads jumping up and down for him!!! You could see the dream coming true on his face. It was unbelievable, incredible, awesome! Meghan and I were officially without voices we were screaming so loud. And crying, of course. Lots of crying, it was a miracle I could see through my contact lenses.
Then came Ali, still sparkly and at 26, she is on her way. IronAli. Amazing. We felt bad not being able to see John T right at the finish line, but luckily he came to us and with a tap on our shoulders, there he was, IronJohn. I'll let Meghan's slideshow convey the emotion exchanged, but I will say it was exhilarating and my heart was bursting with pride. He did it!
We were now completely dedicated to the polka dotted skirt. I knew it by now. I could find it, even in the dark and guess what, my mom was still on post in VT, waiting diligently for the athlete tracker to come in. It did and her news? Amy was past mile 25! Zippety doo dah, zippety aye, my oh my, what a wonderful day!
Meghan went out to bring her home and John and I waited to cheer. I also intended to take some photos, but at the sight of her, I lost my ability to use my hands except to clap and raise them up as high as they would go and yell as loud as I could (which wasn't very loud at all at that point). Seeing her, knowing her...she is steadfast. She will tell you, she felt like poo, pukey, remember. Others may have given up feeling like that. But not Amy, she put one foot in front of the other and got it done. She felt the glory and lifted her arms at the finish in triumph. IronAmy. (Tissues are now gone).
There it was, they were all done. Mission accomplished. Did it turn out the way they expected? I don't think there is an answer for that. We, as athletes, know it is never how it is in your imagination. Sometimes it is better, sometimes it is worse, but it all becomes part of your life string, woven into the fabric of your being. How you build from it shows whether your glass is half-full, or half-empty. The body is an incredible gift, but it is your mind and your spirit that help form it. These three things: mind, body and spirit are what brought our friends, our triathlon family, to hear this phrase that I for one, will never forget, and one they truly deserve:
Congratulations...
YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!
One day, my mother called me when I was about 7 months pregnant and asked me to stop by her house because some mail had come for me. When I arrived, she handed me an envelope addressed to me - no return address, and handwriting that was unfamiliar to me. Inside was a handwritten note wrapped around two $125 gift certificates to Babies R Us. The note was short and sweet, wishing me luck with my new baby, and offering me these gift certificates for pampers, onsies, burping bibs, linens, and anything else I might need. The note was signed, "Your Guardian Angel."
I recently had some therapy sessions to figure out the ways of life, my life as of late, and in one of the sessions, the councilor brought up my children. She asked me about them. I went through the line up, discussing briefly all of them, highlighting the "who they are." She came back to Betsey.
This summer was a doozy for us all around - the move into the disaster of the house, the renovation part of it, the stress it brought all of us in different levels... I had more bathing suits this year that I have ever in my entire life! We spent nearly every day at the beach, whether it be in CT or RI, and even a week at the Jersey Shore, then we'd come "home" and clean up, rest, pack up again, and go back for dinner! I can honestly say, I am still not beached out-I don't think I could ever be, but it was a summer of doing not much in terms of activities. If we weren't a beachy family, I can see how the children would have gotten bored.
Some of the highlights were thespectators t-shirts! There were so many fun slogans and catch phrases; we photographed them all! This gentleman's shirt said it all! What a hoot!
