Not in the running when dead to the world (3,2,2)

I believe the answer is:

out of it

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'dead to the world' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

I don't understand how the remainder of the clue works.

(Other definitions for out of it that I've seen before include "Forlorn" , "Eliminated" , "Drunk < , unaware what is happening" , "is not included" , "unaware of what's going on" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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