Fartlek
/ˈfɑːrt.lɛk/noun
A training method that alternates periods of fast and slow running.
Did you know?Swedish coach Gösta Holmér developed fartlek training in the 1930s, using the landscape itself—hills, forests, and open paths—as an unpredictable training partner.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic
*faraną
“to travel, go, or journey; the ancestral source of Swedish fara, “to go””
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic
*laikijaną
“to play or engage in sport”
Old Norse
Old Norse
fǫrðr
“a journey, passage, or movement; related to the “speed” sense that developed in Scandinavian languages”
19th Century
Swedish
fart
“speed or pace—not the modern English vulgar noun”
19th Century
Swedish
lek
“play or game”
1930s
Swedish
fartlek
““speed play,” a varied running method developed by Gösta Holmér”
20th Century
English
fartlek
“a running workout alternating fast and slow efforts”