There are mile markers in life, and an impending 40th birthday recently forced me to take stock of my health. I had put on weight while at culinary school and, being a complete nonathlete, I never managed to lose it. I had a gym membership, but the only sweat I ever worked up was in the sauna. Running only happened when I made a mad dash for the last train after a night out.

Then fate interceded. At a business dinner one night, I met Bob Poulson, a founding member of Tokyo running club Namban Rengo, which loosely translates as the Barbarian Horde.

To my surprise, Tokyo is a great city for runners. There are a handful of good courses right in the middle of the city: a 5-km loop around the Imperial Palace, a 2 1/2-km run in Yoyogi Park, 3.3 km around the Akasaka Geihinkan (state guest house) and 2.2 km through Komazawa Park among them. There are also great trails an hour away by train in such places as Takao, Oume and Kamakura. Fellow Nambanner Jay Johanneson goes so far as to venture: "I think Tokyo is the best city for running in Asia. The climate is tolerable, the streets are clean and safe to cross, the air is breathable and you have a huge local running community and great foreign running community."