Adapted Mona Fartlek: 90, 60, 30 and 15 Seconds

A school version of the Mona fartlek, popular among distance runners: fast blocks of 90, 60, 30 and 15 seconds, each followed by a jog recovery of the same length. It's a tough but short session that teaches students to change gears without stopping.

How to play

1. Specific warm-up: 4 minutes of jogging and two 15-second accelerations (5 min).
2. Explain the structure and the key idea: fast sections are hard but controlled, and nobody walks during recovery (2 min).
3. Block A: 2 × 90 seconds fast / 90 seconds jog, signaled with a whistle (6 min).
4. Block B: 4 × 60 seconds fast / 60 seconds jog (8 min).
5. Block C: 4 × 30/30 seconds and 4 × 15/15 seconds, with the teacher calling the changes (4 min).
6. Very easy jog and discussion: in which block was it hardest not to walk during recovery (5 min).

Rules

• Each student runs at their own pace around the perimeter; there are no races between classmates.
• Always pass on the outside and call out first.
• Anyone who can't jog during recovery walks briskly but doesn't stop.
• Cancel the session in extreme heat; keep water at the edge of the course.

Variations

Adaptations

• Asthma: keeps the inhaler at the edge of the course and may do only blocks A and B.
• Overweight: fast sections are a brisk jog and recoveries are a fast walk.
• Hearing impairment: changes are signaled with a flag or a raised arm as well as the whistle.

Learning goals

• Improve aerobic power with a structured interval workout.
• Learn to recover while jogging without stopping.
• Get to know a real training format students can use on their own.

Equipment for a class of 25

• stopwatch: 1
• whistle: 1

Teacher tip

Point out that the original session is about 20 minutes of work and that runners use it to check their fitness by repeating it every few weeks on the same route.

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