Pronounced "fart" "leck"
Gösta Holmér (pictured below on the left, from his own days as a runner) was a Swedish distance running coach of the late 1930's and 40's, and developed an innovative style of training to revitalize a Swedish team of cross country runners that had been consistently beaten by the nearby Finns. His method was to work his athletes hard in an endurance training session, but to intermix short bursts during which the athletes would have to run at faster than race pace. The resultant workload would challenge his runners speed and endurance in one session. All of this was to be done over difficult terrain, and at a high level of difficulty.
"Fartlek" is the Swedish term he used to describe his method, usually translated, "speed play." Typically, the "Fartlek" workouts utilized and developed by Holmér were about 12km long, with about 5000m being ran at faster than race pace. Those fast portions would be mixed into the run with varied lengths, totaling approximately 5000m.
This training method was developed after interval training was already being used by distance runners, but is different than that method both because it does not involve any break in the action (it is a continuous training session), and because it is designed primarily for off-track running. Originally, these runs were on the pine-needle trails across Sweden. In the winter, they were sometimes even through deep snow (though obviously not at race pace, the emphasis was on the level of effort and strain an athlete would feel).
Holmér turned the fates of the Swedish distance-running team, as his runners set world records in most distance events during those years. His most successful athletes, however, are pictured above, with Arne Anderson behind Gunder Hägg. These two one-milers were so successful they set six world records for the mile over a three year period, taking the time from 4:06.4 to 4:01.4. These men were running these times during World War II, and afterwards their records stood until Roger Bannister finally broke the 4 minute mile barrier in 1954.
That is very impressive. However, it was Gunder Hägg's amazing summer of 1942 which first put "Fartlek" training on the world's radar. In a span of less than three months, he set ten world records across seven events, in distances ranging from 1500m to 5000m. All of this is rather impressive, and certainly establishes this method of training as serious, however the term "Fartlek" might sound to an English speaker.
Fartlek running, despite the generally lackadaisical or carefree way it is frequently employed today, began as the most innovative and effective method for training great, world-class distance runners, and this is proved by its results. It has not become less effective, but merely less effectively used. That is a result of two factors: First, in its most basic form, it is widely adaptable to all sorts of goals and has been utilized more frequently for other purposes. Second, athletes and coaches, as a group, have a real obsession with whatever latest idea has come out. It is our belief that Fartleks can be a valuable part of any runners training.
At Fartlekers, we make no apology for the funny sounding name, nor the group fun that Fartlek runs can be. At the same time, serious runners should not let that dissuade them from looking long and hard at using this method.