My running always takes a bit of a back seat during summer here in Tokyo (roughly July and August) due to the extreme heat and humidity. This year has been no exception with temperatures often hitting 35C. My rule of thumb has been to run up to 30 and after that to walk. Regular warnings about heatstroke on the news broadcasts mean that you can never say you haven’t been warned. But seeing as it’s like this every year I do wonder why we need to be told every day to drink plenty of water, wear a hat and keep in the shade. Fortunately in Yoyogi Park, my favourite running course, there are plenty of trees and water points so I’ve been able to take precautions as I try to keep fit

But this year’s also been a very wet one with mainly the west of the country being hit by typhoons, and heavy rains. The latter have caused floods and landslides with many lives being lost.

We’ve also had some wetter, cooler days in Tokyo so I’ve taken advantage and headed out round the Park again as often as possible. Until last week that is, when the wet weather proved to be an ideal situation for mosquitoes carrying the dengue fever virus. Last night 76 cases had been reported in Japan – the first “domestic” cases of the disease for nearly 70 years. All the victims reported having been bitten by mozzies in Yoyogi Park. So with the Park now sealed off I need to find a new virus free route, as obviously DEET and covering up will not be enough to defeat the little blighters if I can’t outrun them.