Several months back I spoke on the phone with Scott Douglas, a writer and editor for Runner’s World and Running Times. My own book, Tread Lightly, had just come out, and Scott was writing a book of his own on minimalist running for Rodale Press (the publisher of Runner’s World and Running Times). We covered a lot of ground in our conversation, but one of the topics we focused on was the future of minimalist running shoes.

Scott’s book was just released, and an excerpt from the book on the future of minimalism was just published on-line at Running Times. I read the excerpt this morning, and quite honestly found it to be a fascinating read (and not just because I’m quoted in it several times!).

Scott weaves together interviews with a number of folks that I’ve come to know in the past few years. Joe Rubio from Running Warehouse provides his perspective on the running shoe market and where things are headed. I haven’t written about Joe much here, but if you’ve ever used the RUNBLOG10 code to buy shoes from Running Warehouse, he’s the guy that made that happen. Joe knows the shoe market as well as anyone, and his comments are highly insightful – he doesn’t see minimalist shoes gaining much additional market share going forward, be he tells Douglas that he does believe that they have left their mark on running shoe design:

They’re hugely influential,” Rubio says of the minimalist shoes it might seem he’s just been deriding. “If you look at things that are happening in the auto industry, you’re seeing Porsches that get 72 miles per gallon for the fastest production car they’ve ever made. The same thing’s happening in the running industry. You’ve got these really lightweight minimal shoes that are having a huge influence on how all shoes are made.”

Brian Metzler of Competitor.com is also a shoe geek and has written a bunch on running form and minimalist footwear. Metzler discusses the influence of new materials on shoe design:

“There are so many new materials being created over in Asia that are super lightweight, super strong, super resilient,” says Brian Metzler, a former Running Times senior editor who has wear-tested more than 1,000 shoes. “So whatever you need a piece of a shoe to do, whether it’s add stretchiness for comfort or add firmness, there are these new materials playing a huge role in the shoe revolution.”

Steve Magness is former assistant coach to Alberto Salazar at Nike and now coaches at the University of Houston. Steve writes the Science of Running blog and we share a very similar perspective when it comes to running shoes and form. Magness hones in on the fitting process, and discussed how misguided it is to focus on just one factor when fitting shoes:

“We can measure pronation easily, so that’s what everything is based on,” he says. “There’s going to be this shift of, well, maybe we can measure this other new thing really well, so let’s make everything entirely based on that.

“The reality is, what people need in a running shoe is probably from some crazy combination of foot mechanics and pronation and muscle activity and structure,” Magness says. “It’s hard to tease out all these things and say, ‘All right, here’s the perfect combination.’”

I don’t want to give too much else away since the article is a fantastic read, and I highly encourage you to head on over to Running Times and give it a look.

I just received a review copy of Scott Douglas’ new book, so I have not read it yet myself, but if the excerpt is an indication of quality of the rest of the book content, it should be a great read. It is now available for purchase at Amazon.com.

“I’m more interested in the future of running form. I couldn’t care less what people wear; I’m more concerned about what they do. For too long, all we’ve heard about is what to buy; what’s been missing from the conversation has been how to run properly. I’m convinced that the next big wave in running won’t be footwear, but a surge in running coaches who teach proper, gentle, barefoot-style form.”

Update 12/13/10: Christopher McDougall emailed me and wanted to emphasize that he has been pushing “form-first” since day one. Here’s a quote from a post on the barefoot running debate from his blog:

“…the secret to injury-free running isn’t the proper shoe. It isn’t stretching. It isn’t even training mileage. It’s skill. Like every other sport, healthy running is all about technique. But why hadn’t I ever heard that before? All I ever heard, over and over, was about shoes. Every podiatrist, sports physician, and running magazine preached endlessly about the absolute necessity of corrective footwear. I was never told what to do; I was only told what to buy.”

The thinking is that barefoot-style running form will allow you to run more efficiently and with less likelihood of sustaining a dreaded overuse injury. If there’s one thing that runners fear above all else, it’s an injury that prevents them from logging miles out on the road and trail. While the verdict is still out on whether all runners might benefit from changing form, my anecdotal experience in the form of receiving emails from readers is that changing running form has the power to allow at least some subset of formerly hobbled runners to run injury free – of this I am now 100% convinced. My own form change experiment has been both fun and fascinating, and is still a work in progress (probably always will be), so I was excited and curious when I was contacted by Backbone Media and Velo Press about reviewing Danny Abshire’s new book called Natural Running (written with Brian Metzler of Running Times Magazine).

If you don’t know Danny Abshire, he’s one of the cofounders of Newton Running, makers of the popular and pricey Newton brand of running shoes. Newton is unique in that their mission from the start (they were founded in 2007) was to produce shoes that fostered a natural running style. Abshire also has long history as a maker of custom orthotics, and he tells this story in the book – he’s a big proponent of proper forefoot balance and believes that orthotic intervention is warranted in some cases to achieve this balance. I personally don’t have much problem with this in some cases, but the question remains whether some types of forefoot imbalances are a product of our shoe-wearing history and whether wearing more minimal shoes can help correct imbalances by allowing the foot to strengthen and work more naturally – the verdict is still out. Hardcore minimalists and many barefoot runners might argue that orthotic intervention is anything but “natural,” though I prefer to not be dogmatic on issues like this where solid evidence is still lacking. This, however, is a discussion for another day.

In a nutshell, Natural Running is described by Abshire as a style that mimics what we do when barefoot: light landing on the midfoot/forefoot, slight forward lean of the torso, and a landing underneath the center of gravity (the hips). In his book, Abshire discusses the problems with modern shoes, the basic biomechanics of the running gait, and provides helpful tips on how to assess your own form and pick out any potential problem spots with your feet. The recurring phrase that he use repeatedly throughout the book is that a runner needs to “stay in balance with gravity.” He views proper balance as being of utmost importance, and deviations from proper balance can set up a chain reaction of negative events through our joints, particularly if we pound the pavement with our heels as we run. I found this discussion interesting and informative, and Abshire’s writing style is one of the patient and fatherly coach who simply wants you to be able to run better.

The last several chapters of Natural Running lay out a series of strengthening exercises and form drills designed to help you make a smooth transition to natural running. These are detailed, but like so many of the workout guides found in popular magazines like Runner’s World, I wonder how many people will take the time to follow them. I’m more of a jump in and (carefully) try it kind of guy, and this technique seems to have worked well for me. That being said, if you are looking for detailed information, this book is an excellent choice in most respects.

I only had a few points of disagreement with what Abshire has to say in Natural Running. First, he repeats the oft used mantra to “land directly under your center of gravity (hips).” For example, here’s a direct quote:

“Put simply, have your feet contact the ground beneath your center of mass. From there, you’ll be set up for efficient whole body kinematics. If your foot strikes are slightly in front of your body mass, you’re braking and will need to add power to keep moving forward.”

As I outlined in a long and detailed post on where footstrike should occur, I don’t believe that it is physically possible to land directly under your center of mass. Steve Magness of the Science of Running blog agrees, and wrote a long post himself explaining why. It may be a minor point, but it’s repeated numerous times in the book, and I have yet to see anybody actually doing it. A more accurate way to phrase things would be to land slightly in front of the hips, and allow maximum loading to occur when the foot is under the center of mass. Alternatively, it can be effective to suggest landing under the center of mass as a cue, with the understanding that it doesn’t really happen in practice.

Another point of question is when Abshire states the following:

“The process of sensory communication from your feet is at its best when you are barefoot. That sensory interaction still happens if you’re wearing shoes, but it works a heck of a lot better if you can feel the ground through your shoes. If your foot is raised high off the ground, as is the case with many traditional running shoes with foamy midsoles, the sensory input is dampened considerably.”

I agree with the above statement, but it’s a bit odd considering that Newton shoes generally have a very thick midsole that sits the foot high above the ground (see photo below). Granted, the midsole is firm and provides better sensory input than a soft slab of EVA, but combined with the odd sensation of the forefoot lugs, it’s still far from being barefoot-like. Don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying running in a nearly zero-drop pair of Newton Distance Racers right now, and they do allow easily for a midfoot stride (see video below), I just don’t think they provide the ground feel suggested by the above quote (certainly nowhere close to a shoe like the Vibrams, or even a low-profile road flat). Again, a small point, but one that needed to be mentioned.

Newton Distance Racer – note the thick midsole

On the plus side, my friend Brandon of the Brandon’s Marathon Podcast recently posted a photo of a lower profile and apparently zero-drop racing flat that Newton has in development (see photo below) – the zero drop march continues to move forward!

Newton Zero Drop Racing Flat???

Conclusion

All-in-all, Abshire’s Natural Running was a great read (I read it in 3 days!) and I would highly recommend it as a guide if you are looking to transition to barefoot-style running form and want to keep your shoes. Abshire is very scientific and sensible in his approach, and despite my few small points of disagreement, I found most of the information to be high quality and very useful. He clearly know his way around the human foot, and I anticipate that this book will find it’s place alongside others which are attempting to change the way we run. I don’t believe that there is such a thing as a perfect form that equally applies to every person, so it’s up to the reader to try out Abshire’s approach to see if it works for them. As Abshire states, we are in the midst of a running re-evolution, and if you desire to get off your heels, Natural Running is a resource that will help you get back to running naturally like you did when you were a kid.

I was at the library the other day with my daughter (a frequent activity in this family!), and came across the book “The Naked Olympics” by Tony Perrottet. The cover (see picture to the left) featured what looked like an ancient painting of a group of naked Greek runners (more on this below) in seemingly modern running shoes (still not sure what’s up with that), but I was intrigued and decided to take the book home with me. I wound up reading it in about a week, and it was quite enjoyable.

The Naked Olympics is basically a very readable historical account of what it was like to actually attend the Olympic festival in ancient Greece. It describes what it was like to be both a spectator and athlete, and goes through in detail the various events that comprised the Ancient Olympic Games. While my initial interest in this book was to see what the author had to say about the running events, I found the entire book to be very enjoyable, and full of interesting tidbits about the Games. Among other things, I learned:

1. The Ancient Greeks were wild about athletics, perhaps uniquely so in the ancient world.

2. Like the star athletes of modern times, Olympic champions were held in very high esteem, and were well taken care of financially.

3.The Ancient Greeks really liked to be naked, particularly when competing in athletic events. I have a hard time imagining how this could be comfortable while running, and although I’ve experimented a bit with running barefoot, I don’t suspect that I’ll be running a 5K in the buff anytime soon (though I really do want a new PR!).

4. The Ancient Greeks really loved their olive oil, and used it for purposes that went well beyond cooking (in particular, they liked to combine their use of olive oil with their penchant for being naked). I think I’ll pass on this as well.

5. Despite the picture on the cover of the book, the Ancient Greeks raced barefoot, and appeared to utilize a forefoot strike. I’m still puzzled by the painting on the cover depicting the runners in lace-up running shoes, though I did learn that Nike is the Greek Goddess of victory. I suspect Vibram was the Greek God of foot odor.

6. Death was not an uncommon occurrence for a competitor in the Ancient Olympics. This was apparently common in the chariot race, and also not uncommon among boxers and competitors in the pankration (a pretty much no-holds-barred brawl that I suppose is a predecessor of modern events like the UFC). Today’s Olympics are quite tame by comparison, though it might be an interesting twist if flogging were re-introduced as punishment for a false start in track races.

There’s a lot more of interest to be found in this book, and for anyone with an interest in the history of athletics, I highly recommend it. It’s a short, easy read, and well worth a trip to the library, Amazon, or you nearest locally owned book store.

Image via Wikipedia

Perhaps what I found most appealing about this book was the author’s sincerity and honesty. Like many of us who log miles with no hope of ever winning a race, running for Murakami is a labor of love, and it plays a central role in his life. He runs so that he can stay healthy and continue to write novels, and he runs because he simply loves to run. Murakami is also very comfortable with his shortcomings, and he openly admits that he is not a perfect person. His description of overcoming his fear of the swim leg of triathlons is both humorous and heartfelt – you really feel for him (and laugh at his fear of jellyfish and vicious bears). Murakami’s open admission that his best marathoning days are long passed is impressively honest, but it doesn’t dampen his love of the sport. Reading this book is like reading a book written by you favorite running partner, which is a nice change from some of the other running-related books I have read. In its totality, it’s truly a wonderful book.

I’ll finish this review with a few quotes from the book (it’s filled with many great ones), and the recommendation that this is a book that simply deserves to be read.

And now, in Haruki Murakami’s own words:

“…a person doesn’t become a runner because someone recommends it. People basically become runners because they’re meant to.”

“When you see runners in town it’s easy to distinguish beginners from veterans…the ones with quiet, measured breathing are the veterans. Their hearts, lost in thought, slowly tick away time. When we pass each other on the road, we listen to the rhythm of each other’s breathing, and sense the way the other person is ticking away the moments.”

“I’m me, and at the same time not me. That’s what it felt like. A very still, quiet feeling. The mind wasn’t so important.” – Murakami describing how he felt in the late stages of an Ultramarathon

“Even when I grow old and feeble, when people warn me it’s about time to throw in the towel, I won’t care. As long as my body allows, I’ll keep on running.”

“…I didn’t start running because somebody asked me to become a runner…one day, out of the blue, I started to run-simply because I wanted to.”

“Those of us who participate in triathlons are unusual people…Most all the participants have jobs and families, and on top of taking care of these, they swim and bike and run, training very hard, as part of their ordinary routine…The world, with its commonsensical viewpoint, thinks their lifestyle is peculiar. And it would be hard to argue with anyone who labeled them eccentrics and oddballs. But there’s something we share, not something as exaggerated as solidarity, perhaps, but at least a warm emotion, like a vague, faintly colored mist over a late-spring peak.”

“…for most of the people participating in a triathlon the competitive aspect is less important than the sense of a triathlon as a sort of ceremony by which we can affirm this shared bond.”

“Long distance running (more or less, for better or worse) has molded me into the person I am today, and I’m hoping it will remain a part of my life for as long as possible. I’ll be happy if running and I can grow old together. There may not seem to be much logic to it, but it’s the life I’ve chosen for myself.”

“For a runner like me, what’s really important is reaching the goal I set myself, under my own power. I give it everything I have, endure what needs enduring, and am able, in my own way, to be satisfied.”

Buy this book, read it, and enjoy it.

Happy Running!

Image by I am I.A.M. via Flickr

The final of the one-mile race at the Empire Games in Vancouver, Canada on Aug. 7, 1954 might just be the greatest running race of all time. The race featured two of the titans of middle-distance running, Roger Bannister of England, and John Landy of Australia. Both of these men were world famous runners, both were at the peak of their respective careers, and both had, within the previous six months, broken the 4-minute mile time barrier that many at that time thought was impenetrable (they were the first two runners in history to do it). This latter fact is in part what made this race so compelling.

Without a doubt, Roger Bannister is best known for running the first sub 4-minute mile (he did so on May 6, 1954 in Oxford, England). Few people realize, however, that Bannister’s record stood for less than 2 months – it was broken (by over a full second) by John Landy in June of that same year. Some said Landy’s feat was all the the more impressive since he accomplished the time in a genuine race (in Finland) without the aid of dedicated pacers. Imagine, then, a situation where the two most famous runners of their day, and the first two men to run a sub 4-minute mile, were able to face each other down on the track. This is exactly what happened in August of that same year at the Empire Games in Vancouver.

One of my main reasons for writing this post is that on my run this afternoon, I finished listening to the audiobook version of “The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes, One Goal, and Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It” by Neal Bascomb. If you’re not familiar with “The Perfect Mile,” it recounts the story of Bannister, Landy, and American Wes Santee as they competed to become the first to break the 4-minute mile barrier. Naturally, I assumed that the “Perfect Mile” in the title referred to Bannister’s record breaking race – I was wrong. It turns out that the Empire Games race, now commonly referred to as “The Miracle Mile,” was far more compelling, and I literally got goosebumps as the reader recounted the details of the finish. I highly recommend this book, and the audiobook reader is phenomenal. I listened to a good chunk of the 14 hours of audio while running myself, and enjoyed it thoroughly. Now back to the race.

More than anything else, the one-mile final of the 1954 Empire Games was a race about strategy. Roger Bannister and John Landy were both fast, of that there is no doubt, but they both approached races with different styles. Landy was a front-runner – he blazed through the initial miles with the hope of blowing away his opponents before they knew what hit them. Bannister, on the other hand, was a kicker. He preferred to hold tight to the leader, and then blast past them in the final leg with his deadly-fast kick. Both men knew their opponent’s style, and Neal Bascomb does a great job in “The Perfect Mile” describing the agonizing days leading up to the race as the two runner’s tried to figure out the appropriate strategy to use to beat their opponent. The race itself lived up to the hype (and then some), and both men decided to stick to their favored strategy and hope for the best. So who won??? I’m not going to tell you here in this post for fear of spoiling the climatic race for anyone planning to read “The Perfect Mile.” Sorry!

However, if you just can’t wait, I’ve made use of the miracle of modern technology known as YouTube to provide video footage of the race in its entirety. For your viewing pleasure, here is the race that has come to be known as “The Miracle Mile:”

A few weeks ago, I published a post on this blog about the evolution of running in humans. In this post, I summarized some recent research papers put forth by several scientists (notably Daniel Lieberman of Harvard and Dennis Bramble of the University of Utah) regarding the hypothesis that human beings evolved to become excellent distance runners. Shortly after publishing the post, a tweet came through on my Twitter wire (the web and social networking are amazing, aren’t they) regarding an article that writer and runner Christopher McDougall had written for the Daily Mail on the questionable value of modern running shoes. That article, titled “The painful truth about trainers: Are running shoes a waste of money?” piqued my interest, and I began to look into the literature on barefoot and minimalist running. As it turned out, McDougall had just written a new book, Born to Run, that discusses both running shoes and the evolution of running in humans, and that book is the one I’ll be discussing in the remainder of this post.

At it’s heart, Born to Run is much more than a book about running shoes. In fact, the bulk of McDougall’s treatise against the shoe industry occurs in just one chapter (Chapter 25 to be exact). Born to Run is more a book about the love of running – it is a book about regaining the joy that running can bring to your life, and about why running is more than just a way to keep your weight down and your muscles toned. It is a book about why we all should run, and why those of us who enjoy running what many consider to be insane distances love doing so. It is a book about why running is a part of our history as a species, and why running is truly a gift that was bestowed upon us as human beings.

Image by NileGuide.com via Flickr

The book begins with the author’s quest to find a shadowy tribe of Mexican Indians known as the Raramuri (translated as “The Running People,” the Raramuri are more commonly known to outsiders as the Tarahumara). The Tarahumara inhabit a remote region of the Chihuahuan Desert known as the Copper Canyons (see picture at right), and they tend to be very shy around outsiders. What is special about the Tarahumara from the standpoint of this book is that they are renowned as a culture that revolves around distance running, and among their numbers are some of the greatest distance runners on this planet (check out this video produced by Will Harlan or this article by McDougall for more on the Tarahumara). While on this journey, McDougall meets up with a mysterious American who lives in the canyons among the Tarahumara and goes by the name of Caballo Blanco – the “white horse” (check out Caballo Blanco’s website here). Caballo lets McDougall in on an audacious plan that he’s concocting – he’s organizing a race whereby he hopes to bring some of the top ultrarunners on the planet down to the Copper Canyons to face off with the best the Tarahumara have to offer on a grueling 50-mile ultra marathon course.

The Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon forms the backdrop for most of the remainder of the book, and in addition to Caballo Blanco, McDougall introduces a number of other colorful characters along the way. There’s Barefoot Ted, a guy who lives his name by running without shoes. There’s Jenn Shelton and Billy Barnett, two hard-partying young ultrarunners who like to live life on the edge. There’s Scott Jurek, arguably the best ultrarunner on the planet and the top non-Tarahumara challenger for the Copper Canyon race title. There’s Luis Escobar, who is another accomplished ultrarunner and the main race photographer (see some of his photos from the race here). There are the Tarahumara, the quiet, peaceful people for whom running is part of the daily fabric of life. Finally there’s Christopher McDougall himself and his trainer Eric Orton, and a good chunk of the book details how McDougall transforms himself in 9 months from an oft injured runner into someone who manages to make it to the starting line of a 50-mile race with full expectations of finishing (I won’t give away if he does).

What makes this book such a thoroughly enjoyable read is that McDougall is a fantastic storyteller and a great researcher. He shifts with ease from recounting his harrowing adventures in the Copper Canyons, to the antics and life stories of his running companions, to discussing the perils of running shoes and the evolution of running in humans (which, as an evolutionary morphologist, is one of my favorite parts of the book). He also throws in some interesting stories about some of the more well known ultra-races (e.g., Leadville, Western States, Badwater), as well as some no-holds-barred descriptions of some of the higher profile ultra-runners (e.g., Ann Trason, Dean Karnazes).

Ultimately, where McDougall succeeded most in this book for me as a runner was in his ability to really make me think about the joy of running. I listened to the last bit of the book yesterday while on my final 20-mile training run for the Vermont City Marathon (downloaded from Audible.com – the reader/narrator is excellent), and it helped me through what turned out to be a really tough run. He makes you realize that getting caught up in pace, distance, etc. can sidetrack you from the real joy of running, and he reinforced my belief that when we run, we are really running for ourselves – we run because we’re supposed to. McDougall’s comment about the Copper Canyon race that he was “running against the course” really rang true for me. I know that I have no chance at winning a marathon, so why do I compete? I do so because I can challenge myself against the course, and I do so because I love running. This book also made me think about my running shoes, and I’ve already purchased a pair of Nike Free 3.0’s in the hopes of transitioning into a more minimalist style of running, and I may give the Vibram Fivefingers a try at some point down the road. Finally, I liked this book because it makes me want to run a 50-mile ultramarathon, and if a book can accomplish that feat, you know that it has to be good.

So if you’re a runner now or hope to become one, this book is absolutely a must read. I would rank it as the most enjoyable running book that I have read, and probably one of the best books of any kind that I’ve read in a long time. I urge you to check it out – you won’t be disappointed.

Below are samples of the book that you can read (left) or listen to (right) for yourself (you can click on the image on the left to make it larger and readable):

Here’s a YouTube video of Christopher McDougall demonstrating and discussing the Tarahumara style of running:

You can also watch John Stewart’s interview with Christopher McDougall here: https://runblogger.com/2009/08/chirstopher-mcdougall-on-daily-show.html

See below for some additional reviews of Born to Run by fellow runners:

Review: ‘Born To Run’ a spellbinding look at running.
by Doug Binder, The Oregonian

Barefoot Ted’s Adventures: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

“Born to Run” is a Must Read Book for Runners
Recover Your Stride Blog

Book Review: Born to Run—5-12-2009
Koach Karl, Endurance Planet

Born To Run Book Review
Portland Trail Runner

Review – Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
Tina’s Barefoot Adventures Blog

Update 5/6/09: “Born to Run” is now out in the stores. You can order it here.

My past few posts on this blog have dealt with the topic of why humans are tops among most all animals when it comes to long-distance endurance running (see my Evolution of Running in Humans post, and my Persistence Hunting post). Well, it just so happens that a new running book is set to be released on May 5th that deals to a certain extent with these very topics (and I honestly had no idea until after I put out those posts – a link to an article by the book author came across my Twitter wire last night).

The book is titled Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen, and authored by Christopher McDougall. The book has been receiving some buzz in the media, and the article mentioned above seems to be linked to by a number of running sites. The basic premise of that article is that we are killing our feet and legs by wearing modern, high-tech running shoes, and questions whether they are really worth the money we spend on them. You can view it yourself by clicking the article title below:

The painful truth about trainers: Are running shoes a waste of money?

This article is sure to generate some controversy, and I’m not yet sure that I’d give up my fancy shoes, but it’s very thought provoking. I don’t know much else about the book, but it sounds interesting enough to me as an evolutionary biologist and runner that I plan to give it a read when it comes out.

Here’s an excerpt from the book description on Amazon:

“Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt? In search of an answer, Christopher McDougall sets off to find a tribe of the world’s greatest distance runners and learn their secrets, and in the process shows us that everything we thought we knew about running is wrong.

With a sharp wit and wild exuberance, McDougall takes us from the high-tech science labs at Harvard to the sun-baked valleys and freezing peaks across North America, where ever-growing numbers of ultrarunners are pushing their bodies to the limit, and, finally, to the climactic race in the Copper Canyons. Born to Run is that rare book that will not only engage your mind but inspire your body when you realize that the secret to happiness is right at your feet, and that you, indeed all of us, were born to run.“

If you’re interested in purchasing this book, you can find it on Amazon by clicking the button below: