How to use the vdot training paces calculator
- Choose the distance of a recent race, or enter your own distance in meters, and type your finish time as hours, minutes and seconds (1:45:30) or minutes and seconds (20:00).
- Read the VDOT value, a single number for running fitness taken from that race.
- Use the table of training paces for easy, marathon, threshold, interval and repetition running, per kilometer and per mile.
- Use the table of equal-effort race times to see what the same fitness suggests for other distances. Open the advanced options to change the intensity of each pace.
Formula
speed v = distance in meters / time in minutes
oxygen cost = -4.60 + 0.182258 v + 0.000104 v^2
share of VO2max held = 0.8 + 0.1894393 e^(-0.012778 t) + 0.2989558 e^(-0.1932605 t), with t in minutes
VDOT = oxygen cost / share of VO2max held
training speed for a share s: solve oxygen cost = s x VDOT for v
These are the running equations published by Jack Daniels and Jimmy Gilbert. The pace for marathon training comes from the equal-effort marathon time. The intensity shares for the other paces are example values you can change.
A 20:00 5K
A 5 km race in 20:00 is 250 meters per minute. The oxygen cost is 47.4645 and the share of VO2max a runner can hold for 20 minutes is 0.9530, so VDOT = 47.4645 / 0.9530 = 49.81.
With the example intensities, easy running is 5:53 to 4:54 per km (9:28 to 7:54 per mile), marathon pace is 4:32 per km (7:18 per mile), threshold at 88 percent is 4:16 per km, interval at 98 percent is 3:55 per km and repetition at 105 percent is 3:42 per km. The same fitness gives a 41:28 10K, a 1:31:50 half marathon and a 3:11:17 marathon on paper.
How to read the paces
Easy pace is a range because easy running covers a wide band of effort. The faster paces are tied to the share of your maximum oxygen use that the effort uses, so each is a rule of thumb for a kind of session, not a target for every day. Equal-effort race times assume you train for each distance and run it on a flat course in fair weather.
Predictions grow less certain the further they are from the distance you ran. A 5K result says less about a marathon than a half marathon result does. For a simpler prediction between distances, see the race time predictor, the pace calculator and the race split pacing table generator.
Limits and care
These numbers are estimates from published equations, and they can differ by a few seconds from printed tables. Hills, heat, wind, altitude and a poor day all change a race. This page is general information, not coaching or medical advice. If anything hurts or you feel unwell, stop and rest. The heart rate zone calculator gives another way to scale effort.
Assumptions and limits
- The race was run at a hard, even effort on a flat course, and the time is a fair measure of current fitness.
- The VDOT value is only meaningful between about 15 and 100. Times outside that range are refused.
- The intensity shares for easy, threshold, interval and repetition paces are example values you can change. Repetition running has no standard share.
- Pace per mile uses 1.609344 kilometers, and the marathon is 42,195 meters.
Frequently asked questions
Is VDOT the same as VO2max?
No. VDOT is a score that makes the equations match race results. It behaves like a VO2max value but is not measured in a lab, and it includes running efficiency as well as oxygen use.
Why do my paces differ from a printed table?
Printed tables round pace per kilometer or mile, use fixed intensities for each kind of run and may include adjustments. This page solves the equations directly with the example intensities shown, so it can differ by a few seconds.
Can I use a time from a hilly or trail race?
Not directly. The equations assume a flat road or track. A hilly race understates your fitness, so the predicted paces may be too slow.
What if the VDOT looks too high or low?
Check the distance and the time. A time written as 20 means 20 minutes; a time such as 1:20 means one minute twenty seconds, not one hour twenty minutes, unless you write 1:20:00.