We’ve had very hot weather in Spokane lately. The high temperature was well over 90° for ten straight days, and one day it was 107° (42 C.). This raises an important safety question for runners: When running in very hot weather, what is the most common way that runners end up dead?

If you answered heat stroke, good guess, but wrong. The correct answer is heavy sweating stings the eyes so badly, runners can’t see well, they go off course and plunge thousands of feet off a sheer cliff.

I lived in southern Japan for a couple years, which has a summer climate similar to the Southeast U.S. The hot and humid weather caused me to sweat very heavily. Here’s a photo in which I re-created how I looked at the end of a run.Honestly, I was soaked as thoroughly as if I’d jumped into a pool. Before going inside my apartment, I’d remove my shirt and wring it out over the railing.

Because Spokane’s dry climate allows greater evaporation, I don’t get totally soaked like in Japan, however I do sweat heavily. I often use sunscreen, and that makes it even worse on the eyes.

For those of you at high risk of heavy sweating and cliff-plunging, here’s a solution I pioneered that’ll keep you safe.

Tie a sponge to your forehead. The one you use for washing your car works great. As a bonus, it you run into anything, it’ll really cushion the blow.

So, don’t let the summer heat stop you from getting in a run!