Fall is a great time to get outside, run among colorful trees and make tracks with your running friends. In my last blog post, I mentioned a funny-sounding workout called “the fartlek.” But fartleks aren’t just funny to say, they’re also fun to run. Here’s exactly what they are — and four other workouts that will make your fall runs more fun:
1. The Fartlek
Fartleks are a great workout to do among the trees. Fartlek is a Swedish word meaning “speed play,” so this workout will have you running fast. To play, get together a small group of runners. Then find yourself a winding, rolling, wooded patch of forest or a good undulating running trail. Start out by warming up for a mile or two. Once the game starts, each runner takes turns leading for one to two minutes. The leader’s job is to push the pace and try to lose the other runners. Everyone else needs to try to keep up. Spend a few minutes recovering between leaders. If you want to slow things down a bit, have a slower-paced runner take a turn leading.
2. The Pumpkin Relay
What says fall better than pumpkins? In this game, you’ll run relays using a pumpkin as your hand-off device. You can do this with mini-pumpkins (or even squashes), which are easy to hold. Or, you can make this game a bit “crazier” by using a regular-sized pumpkin. If you’re carrying a large pumpkin, keep the distance short since your running form will be quite awkward. This game is all about having fun and looking a little silly, so have a good time with it.
3. Fall Scavenger Hunts
Although scavenger hunts may take a little bit of advanced planning, they can be a great way to turn a regular run into a game. Someone will need to volunteer to design a few simple clues for the runners to follow. The clues can be directions on how to get to the next stop on the run or challenging tasks for the runners to complete. Let your imagination run wild. In one notoriously impossible race, runners have to rip pages out of books left along the way to prove that they’ve completed it. (Since they don’t know which books will be there, they can’t cheat.) You could try a simpler iteration by leaving a stack of notecards with the name of the checkpoint on them. At the end of the run, you can check to see who made it to all of the stops or completed all of the challenges based on the collected cards. This is a fun activity in which the fastest runners won’t necessarily be the winners.
4. Prediction Runs
A prediction run is a great way to practice pacing for an upcoming race goal. The prediction run is the running equivalent of “closest to the pin” in golf. Here, each runner needs to guess their time for completing a run. The person whose guess is closest to his or her actual time wins. Normally, we do these runs on the track. But how about trying them through a corn maze or a forest path among the trees? The best runners should be able to predict their pace very precisely when running on flat ground or on a track, but the twist here is the need to compensate for undulating or twisting trails.
5. Continuous Relays
Sometimes, the weather can be bad in the fall. If you’re looking for a way to do a fun workout that’s a least partially protected from the elements, try a cumulative distance relay or continuous relay. Go to a track with a set of covered bleachers or a park with a covered picnic shelter. The covered area is the base where runners can get some relief from the weather while the runners are out there racing. During the relay, take turns running a course (or laps on the track) and see who can run the farthest in a set amount of time. The shorter the course and the smaller the team, the more time you’ll spend running. The longer the course or the greater the number of runners, the more time you’ll stay under cover — hopefully staying dry.
One of the keys to making running fun is using your imagination and getting away from simply logging miles. There are no limits on the types of games and themes you can apply to running. Put a little thought into it and get out there to enjoy all the beauty that fall has to offer.
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5 Workouts to Make Fall Runs More Fun originally appeared on usnews.com
