The original idea is that a fartlek workout is unstructured (the name means “speed play”) so it’s hard to plan one. Here’s what you need to know about fartleks, and some guidelines to setting yourself up for a fun and productive one.
Most runners and coaches would agree on that description, but when you try to nail down a definition of the fartlek run, things start to fall apart. If you run fast for one minute and slow for four, is that a fartlek, or just a time-based interval? Can you run fartleks at a specific pace, or just off vibes? I even saw one post on Reddit that claimed it’s not a real farlek if you know how long you’ll be running each segment—you need a coach to blow a whistle when you least expect it.
A fartlek run includes short segments of faster and slower running.
Precise paces and times are not required.
Your cues to speed up and slow down may come from your environment, your training partners, your whims, or a loose plan you had when you set out.
Why run a fartlek?
The benefits of fartlek runs will depend on how you do them. Some fartleks are basically a threshold (or tempo) run, some end up being long runs with some marathon-pace work in the middle, and some are just standard speedwork with a different name. These will all have different benefits. If a coach or written program tells you to do a “fartlek run,” make sure to get clarification on what that’s supposed to mean.
If the runner chooses their own intervals, it can be fun and playful, sort of a mental break from structured training.
The variety in the run can make it a little less boring than a standard threshold or long run.
Examples of fartlek runs you can try today
So we have some guidelines, and we know when and why we might try a fartlek run. With that, you can pretty much put together your own version—but I’d like to give a few examples to start you off. There are no wrong answers, so feel free to add your own! For any of these, plan to start and end your run with at least five to 10 minutes of easy jogging (or however you like to warm up and cool down).
You can also do this same idea song by song. Alternate chill songs with higher energy ones, and match that energy to your running speed. Remember, it’s a fartlek, so you can always skip or repeat a song as you see fit.
The hill fartlek
This one is good for some distance-based guidelines if you run in a place with light poles, mailboxes, or some similar repetitive structure. Starting at one pole, run fast until you hit the next one, then jog easy until you pass two or three more.
“Haul ass” triggers
This is like a speedwork version of the “run until” challenge. The “haul ass” segments could be a favorite hill or straightaway, as we discussed above, but you could come up with more creative options as well. Here are a few: If you pass a picnic with a boom box blasting, run faster for as long as it’s in earshot. If you see a cute dog or a cool-looking bird, run faster for 30 seconds. And of course, every park runner’s favorite, “pass that person in front of me.” They don’t have to know you think it’s a race.
Time-based fartleks
Some will say these aren’t true fartleks, but sorry—plenty of people run time-based intervals with loose pace targets and call them fartleks. Here are a few I’ve seen:
Pyramid up and down: 1 minute fast, 1 minute easy, then 2 of each, 3 of each, then 2, then 1. Jog easy for a bit before starting the next pyramid.
The treadmill fartlek
I’m now realizing that some of my ways to make the treadmill less boring are, in fact, fartleks. My favorite is the simple rule to “change something every quarter-mile.” That could mean an increase in speed, or a decrease in speed. A little bump to the incline. Maybe I just try to get this last quarter-mile over with as fast as possible.
Again, make up your own rules. You could do time-based intervals as above, or choose triggers like sprinting for 30 seconds whenever a number 7 comes up on any of the readouts in front of you.
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