My Experience with Fartleks and Strides: How I Built Speed (Without the Track Stress)

When I first decided I wanted to get a little faster, I thought my only option was to head to a local track with a stopwatch, run until I tasted copper, and dread every single workout.

Fortunately, I discovered two training tools that completely changed the game for me: fartleks and strides.

While they both helped me inject some speed into my routine, I quickly learned they served completely different purposes in my training. Here is how I figured out the difference, how I personally used them, and what worked best for my own fitness journey.

1. Fartleks: My Experience with "Speed Play"

"Fartlek" is a Swedish word that translates to "speed play." When I first heard the name, I laughed—but once I actually tried it, it became one of my absolute favorite ways to run.

What a fartlek run looked like for me:

Instead of staring at my GPS watch waiting for a specific distance to end, I made it a game. I blended a continuous easy jog with random, fun bursts of speed. I used whatever was in front of me as a target—like a specific tree, a telephone pole, a lamp post or 2 or a random house down the street.

Once I hit my target, I dropped back down to an easy recovery jog until my breathing settled, and then I picked a new target.

Why I loved it:

Zero Watch Anxiety: I didn't care about my exact pace per mile; I just went entirely by feel.
It Taught Me to Recover on the Move: Since I kept jogging slowly during the recovery breaks, it did wonders for my endurance.
The Perfect Parkrun Prep: I found that fartleks seemed to add a brilliant injection of speed to my legs. If I had a parkrun or another event coming up at the weekend, a fartlek session earlier in the week always made my legs feel sharp and ready.

2. Strides: How I Improved My Form

While fartleks helped me build my lung capacity, strides (sometimes called accelerations) were the secret weapon that actually made me feel like a smoother, more efficient runner.

What they were to me:

Strides are very short, quick bursts of running—usually about 50 to 100 meters—where I gradually built up my speed to about 90% of a full sprint, held it for just a few seconds, and then gently slowed down.

Why I did them:

They Shook Out Heavy Legs: If my legs felt sluggish from a long, slow run, a few strides at the end seemed to "wake up" my muscles.
Form Practice: I used strides to focus on running "tall," relaxing my shoulders, and landing lightly on my feet.
No Exhaustion: Because they only lasted about 15 seconds, they didn't leave me feeling wiped out or sore the next day.

How I Fit Both Into My Week (When Fully Fit)

When I am not dealing with injuries and feeling fully fit, my golden rule is to add one of these sessions to a mid-week easy run.

I never do both on the same day, but they both have a home in my weekly schedule. Here is what a typical week of running looked like for me when I was training consistently:

The Mid-Week Easy Run + Strides: I would do a normal, easy-paced run on a Wednesday. Right at the very end, I’d find a flat spot by my house and do 4 to 6 strides to stretch out my legs.
The Thursday Fartlek Run: If I didn't do strides on Wednesday, Thursday became my "effort" day. I headed out for a 30-minute run and sprinkled in my landmark speed play to get my legs firing for the weekend.
The Weekend: I saved this for a longer, very slow, relaxed run or a weekend event.

What I've Learned About Energy and Fat Burning

When I first started experimenting with these, I had a few theories about how they affected my body, and doing some reading along the way really opened my eyes to how it all works:

The Fat-Burning Zone: I used to think strides were the ultimate fat-burners because they felt so crisp and controlled without making me feel completely winded. I later learned that the body actually burns the highest percentage of fat during our slower, steady, aerobic easy runs!
The Anaerobic Burst: Even though strides don't leave you gasping for air because they are so short, they actually tap into our anaerobic system for that quick burst of power. Because you recover fully between each one, you get all the speed benefits without the heavy, lactic-acid exhaustion.

My Personal Rule of Thumb: Whether it’s a fartlek or a set of strides, if I find myself gasping for air or straining, I know I'm pushing too hard. For me, these are all about feeling smooth, fast, and light—almost like flying!