Friday Fartlek Run – Peter Elliott’s Killer Session #1

Peter Elliott liked to run this session four times during the winter to test himself and see how his fitness was developing. He reported that a sponsor once came to the track to observe this session and at the end of it whilst Peter was sprawled on the track with lactic acid in his bloodstream, the sponsor tried calling an ambulance for him!!!! Peter had a 1,500m PB of 3:32.69, 1 mile of 3:49.20, and 800m of 1:42.97. He won silver in the 1,500m at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and gold at the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games in the 1,500m. This session is great for runners up to 5km, as well as triathletes.

Each week I will be posting the Friday Fartlek Run Sessions that you can do to enhance your running. Fartlek is a Swedish term that is often used by runners and it means speed-play. See a previous post about training intensity (levels) to know how hard to work.

This workout has come from an article in Athletics Weekly about sessions Peter Elliott conducted back in the 80s. You can read the article here.

Peter Elliott’s Killer Session #1

• 10min WU Level II;
• 200m Level V, 1min Level I RI;
• 400m Level V, 2min Level I RI;
• 600m Level V, 2min Level I RI;
• 800m Level V, 3min Level I RI;
• 1,000m Level V, 3min Level I RI;
• 800m Level V, 3min Level I RI;
• 600m Level V, 2min Level I RI;
• 400m Level V, 2min Level I RI;
• 200m Level V, 1min Level I RI;
• 10min CD Level I-II;
• 10min Stretching

Start the workout with a Warm Up (WU) for a minimum of ten minutes of easy jogging at Level II.

The main set is made up of nine reps conducted in a pyramid fashion all at Level V.

Start with 200m followed by a minute of recovery. Walk around during this recovery, keep the legs moving and the blood flowing.

Next up is a 400m rep with two minutes Rest Interval (RI).

Follow that with a 600m rep which also has a two-minute Rest Interval (RI).

An 800m rep follows on with three minutes for the Rest Interval (RI), then a 1,000m rep to peak the pyramid also has a three-minute Rest Interval (RI).

You then go down the pyramid with an 800m rep with a three-minute Rest Interval (RI) again.

Then a 600m rep with a two-minute Rest Interval (RI).

The second to last rep is 400m with another two-minute Rest Interval (RI), and finish with a 200m rep with a minute Rest Interval (RI) before your Cool Down (CD).

The Cool Down (CD) is at a low intensity, jogging (Level I-II) for a minimum of ten minutes.

Finish with 10 minutes of stretching to assist with the recovery.

I am the Head Coach & Director of Qwik Kiwi – Endurance Sports Consultant.

I specialise in assisting first-timers and recreational athletes to achieve their sporting goals. I can be contacted at coachray@coachray.nz and 021 348 729.

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