• Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Login
  • Register
  • Home
  • Archive
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Archive
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Home Cross Country

What is Fartlek? by Larry Eder

Larry EderbyLarry Eder
July 24, 2013
0
0 0
0
SHARES
6
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Fartlek is a great way of training for many around the world. The term is from Swedish, and it means “speed play”. I first started using it in high school, and it remained one of my favorite training methods. Consider adding it to your training arsenal. 


163957250DP163_IAAF_Day_in_.jpg
Galen Rupp, Mo Farah, A Day in the Life, 
photo by Doug Pensinger, Getty Images/IAAF, April 13, 2013


Fartlek is a training technique that was developed by the Swedish coach, Gosta Holmer, during the 1930s and 1940s. Fartlek is the Swedish word for speed play. Holmer developed the training to utilize the walking paths across Sweden and give his runners something more than intervals, the way most trained at the time. 

Fartlek can be simple, and it can be complex. My first Fartlek workouts were done on golf courses (early, so we did not get chased off). We would charge each hill on the course, so for us, about every 300-500 yards, we had a good hill, we would jog for recovery until the next hill. 

Another fartlek workout is to warm up, and do a series of runs, say one minute, two minutes, three minutes, four minutes, at 5k race pace, with same time to recover. Fartlek can go from twenty minutes to two hours. 

My favorite was on a ball field. Wanting to get off the track, I would go to San Jose City College and run the fence, about 200 yards, at mile pace, and jog back, sometimes, repeating it six to twenty times, depending on the time in season. 

Holmer Fartlek was the simplest. One would go out on a run, say thirty minutes and return the same way, increasing the pace every ten minutes, to get back much faster than one started. 

Fartlek is deceptive. Holmer wanted to give his runners something that had variety in it. Fartlek workouts on trails, and hills, and in parks is a great way to workout. 

Think about adding Fartlek to your workout routines…

RelatedPosts

2023 RunBlogRun Spring Training for the Middle Distances, 800m to 5,000m, Week 12, Day 7, Sunday is for a long run…

2023 RunBlogRun Spring Training for the Middle Distances, 800m to 5,000m, Week Twelve, Day 6…a day of racing!

2023 RunBlogRun Spring Training for the Middle Distances, 800m to 5,000m, Week 12, Day 5, Friday is an easy day…

Author

  • Larry Eder
    Larry Eder

    Larry Eder has had a 50-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."

    View all posts

Previous Post

Mark Covert takes a break, the second longest running streak in history ends, by Larry Eder

Next Post

IPICO Sports helps combat the decline of children’s aerobic fitness, by Justin Ratke, IPICO, note by Larry Eder

Larry Eder

Larry Eder

Larry Eder has had a 50-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."

Similar Post

FBK Games Blankers-Koen Stadion, Hengelo (NED) – 3-4 June 2023, compiled by World Athletics Results Services

FBK Games Blankers-Koen Stadion, Hengelo (NED) – 3-4 June 2023, compiled by World Athletics Results Services

June 5, 2023
Doha Diamond League opens 2023 season with great competitions and great crowd!

2023 RunBlogRun Spring Training for the Middle Distances, 800m to 5,000m, Week 12, Day 7, Sunday is for a long run…

June 5, 2023
Five things that did not surprise me in Florence
News

Golden Gala Pietro Mennea, Stadio Luigi Ridolfi, Florence, Italy, 2 June 2023, results from World Athletics Results Services

June 4, 2023
Five things that did not surprise me in Florence

Five things that did not surprise me in Florence

June 4, 2023
Faith Kipyegon smashes World Record 1500m in Florence
News

Faith Kipyegon smashes World Record 1500m in Florence

June 4, 2023
World Record in the Women’s 1,500 meters by Faith Kipyegon! (3:49.11 WR) at Florence Diamond League
News

Faith Kipyegon breaks the women’s 1500m world record in an evening of world leading performances in Florence, Italy!

June 4, 2023

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Subscribe to RunBlogRun's Global News Feed

Wake up to RunBlogRun’s news in your inbox. Sign up for our newsletter and we’ll keep you informed about the Sport you love.

*we hate spam as much as you do

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
USATF / Day Four:  USA’s Assembled Team Is Ready!

Abby Steiner replies via twitter, on the curiosity about her new professional running contract

July 5, 2022
What happened to the crowd at Eugene?

What happened to the crowd at Eugene?

July 17, 2022
2022 USATF Outdoor Champs: Melissa Jefferson takes the Women’s 100m title in windy 10.69!

The curious case of Sha’Carri Richardson: How can the sprinter turn around her career?

February 8, 2023

(RBR Archives) Coaching 101: Warm Up & Cool Down for the Jumps, by Roy Stevenson, note by Larry Eder

April 1, 2022
What happened to the crowd at Eugene?

What happened to the crowd at Eugene?

6
Asafa Powell, Considering Longevity in Sprinting

The RunBlogrun Interview: Asafa Powell

5
2022 Munich Diary, Day Five, a Great Friday Night

2023 European Athletics Indoor Champs, The Women’s 60m, who will win the final tonight?

5
TCS New York City Marathon Broadcast to be Available in More Than 530 Million Homes Around the World on Sunday, November 6

RunblogRun Editorial: The Sorry State of Running Television Coverage, by Peter Abraham, note by Larry Eder

4
FBK Games Blankers-Koen Stadion, Hengelo (NED) – 3-4 June 2023, compiled by World Athletics Results Services

FBK Games Blankers-Koen Stadion, Hengelo (NED) – 3-4 June 2023, compiled by World Athletics Results Services

June 5, 2023
Doha Diamond League opens 2023 season with great competitions and great crowd!

2023 RunBlogRun Spring Training for the Middle Distances, 800m to 5,000m, Week 12, Day 7, Sunday is for a long run…

June 5, 2023
Five things that did not surprise me in Florence

Golden Gala Pietro Mennea, Stadio Luigi Ridolfi, Florence, Italy, 2 June 2023, results from World Athletics Results Services

June 4, 2023
Five things that did not surprise me in Florence

Five things that did not surprise me in Florence

June 4, 2023

Popular Stories

  • USATF / Day Four:  USA’s Assembled Team Is Ready!

    Abby Steiner replies via twitter, on the curiosity about her new professional running contract

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • What happened to the crowd at Eugene?

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The curious case of Sha’Carri Richardson: How can the sprinter turn around her career?

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • (RBR Archives) Coaching 101: Warm Up & Cool Down for the Jumps, by Roy Stevenson, note by Larry Eder

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Oregon 22 World Athletics Champs: False Starts reconsidered

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Recent Tweets

Next Post

IPICO Sports helps combat the decline of children's aerobic fitness, by Justin Ratke, IPICO, note by Larry Eder

runblogrun

RunBlogRun comments on the global world of athletics, sports & ethics, and the Olympic movement. @runblogrun

Browse by Category

Newsletter

Subscribe to our mailing list to receives daily updates direct to your inbox!

  • Home
  • Archive
  • Contact Us

© 2022 Run Blog Run - All Rights Reserved

No Result
View All Result
  • Archive
  • Contact Us
  • Home page
  • My Account
  • Sample Page

© 2022 Run Blog Run - All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

Select a password for yourself. (minimum length of 8)

Paste here the user biography.

Provide here the twitter screen name. i.e. @RunBlogRun

Provide here the instagram screen name. i.e. @RunBlogRun

Provide here the facebook profile URL. i.e. http://www.facebook.com/RunBlogRun

Provide here the linkedin profile URL. i.e. https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-eder-5497253

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist