02/11/2026
A while back I set myself a simple challenge on a run around Burton Road and Yarborough.
Walk to one lamppost, run to the next. Walk one, run one, all the way round.
It was going well. I set a good pace and I felt strong.
Then I got to the cycle track and turned onto the small loop, straight after a walk section.
There isn’t a single lamppost on that path 😂
I could have stopped and walked. But I’d set the rule, so I ran the lot.
It absolutely blew my lungs.
That’s the fun of fartlek though. It literally means “speed play”, and you make the rules up as you go. A lamppost, a tree, the end of the street. Fast for this bit, easy for the next, relaxed shoulders for the one after.
So many people I see only ever run one way. Trainers on, out the door, same pace, same route, home again.
If that’s your routine 5k, try playing with it once a week. You’ll be surprised what it does for your running.