Fartleks are a well-known and popular running workoutor at least theyre something runners talk about all the time.

What counts as a fartlek run?

You choose a landmarksay, a mailbox up aheadand decide to run faster until you get to it.

Then you slow down again.

Can you run fartleks at a specific pace, or just off vibes?

The slower running is still running, usually around your easy pace.

So this isnt a sprint-and-walk situation, more like jog-and-surge.

(If you should probably walk those recoveries, keep your pace strong and powerful.)

Precise paces and times are not required.

The faster segments should be short, and the easy segments should be longer.

A fartlek run should feel harder than an easy run.

Why run a fartlek?

The benefits of fartlek runs will depend on how you do them.

These will all have different benefits.

The variety in the run can make it a little less boring than a standard threshold or long run.

You cant compare your times or paces to what youve done previously, since every fartlek is different.

This can help if you get anxious about whether youre improving enough.

There are no wrong answers, so feel free to add your own!

The music fartlek

Youll need a good playlist for this one.

(Fortunately,we have a guide from our resident spinning instructoron how to craft a great one.)

When the song is slow, jog easy.

When the chorus picks up the energy a bit, you might too.

And if it hits a big, emotional bridgeyou know what to do.

it’s possible for you to also do this same idea song by song.

Alternate chill songs with higher energy ones, and match that energy to your running speed.

Haul ass triggers

I love this idea, which came from anold Reddit comment.

This is like a speedwork version of therun until challenge.

If you see a cute dog or a cool-looking bird, run faster for 30 seconds.

And of course, every park runners favorite, pass that person in front of me.

They dont have to know you think its a race.

(He made me run a real long one?

OK, Ill makehimsprint up this hill!)

Jog easy for a bit before starting the next pyramid.

Descending only: 5 minutes fast, 5 easy, then 4, 3, 2, and 1.

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 venture to get this last quarter-mile over with as fast as possible.

Again, make up your own rules.