by Larry Eder
This is Thursday, March 7, 2024.
This is Fartlek Day.
Gosta Holmer, an Olympian from Sweden who competed against Jim Thorpe, invented this interval program run on the trails and in parks.
Mr. Holmer developed it for the Swedish cross-country team in the 1930s, which did very poorly in European competitions, and Gosta wanted to motivate them.
He did!
This is your workout:
Warm up today,
60 minute fartlek,
six-time five minutes hard, five minutes easy
fifteen minutes of moderate to slow running after that.
Cooldown,
hydrate
get out of your wet clothes,
recover;
Larry’s Deep Thoughts: Fartlek is for the newbie runner and elite. It provides challenging work at whatever your level.
I love the picture of Lieke Klaver and Femke Bol, training partners, and strong friends. As writer John Parter called it, “The Miles of Trials and Trials of Miles.”
Femke Bol won two gold medals at the World Indoor Champs this weekend. Femke ran the 400m and won in a WR of 49.16. She was followed by her teammate and training partner, Lieke Klaver. In the 4×400, Femke anchored, and Lieke ran a leg as the Netherlands took the gold in the Women’s 4x400m.
Femke’s training is pretty tough. She does sprints, lifting, long repetitions, and hill work. She has found a system with her coaches that works for her!
400-meter runners need strength, and Fartlek would be a good addition to quarter-milers’ training. Consider it!
