Calculators

VDOT calculator

Turn one race result into your VDOT, your equivalent times at every distance, and the five Daniels training paces. Full table included, no sign-up.

Your VDOT and training paces

Enter one honest recent race result. Everything below is derived from it — no extra questions, because the model does not use any.

race distance

hours

min

sec

VDOT: 38.3
Race pace: 5:00

Training paces, per kilometre

E Easy: 6:57–6:11
M Marathon: 5:38
T Threshold: 5:14
I Interval: 4:51
R Repetition: 4:34

Equivalent race times at this VDOT

1 mile: 7:24
5K: 25:00
10K: 51:53
Half marathon: 1:55:04
Marathon: 3:57:55

VDOT is back-calculated from a race, not measured in a lab. It tells you what your current fitness is worth; it does not know whether you have done the long runs a marathon needs.

What VDOT actually is

VDOT is a number Jack Daniels and Jimmy Gilbert invented to solve a practical problem: VO2max is the best single measure of endurance fitness, and almost nobody has access to a lab to measure it.

So they went the other way. They took the oxygen cost of running at a given speed, and the fraction of maximum a runner can hold for a given duration, and combined them into a number you can back-calculate from a race result. That number is VDOT — a pseudo-VO2max, deliberately named differently because it is not the lab value. It bundles VO2max, running economy and lactate threshold into one figure, which is why it predicts race times better than a measured VO2max does.

Why one number covers five distances

If two runners have the same VDOT, they should race the same times, and they should train at the same paces. That is the whole claim, and it is a strong one: a 20:00 5K and a 3:11 marathon are the same fitness expressed twice.

VDOT to equivalent race times

Find the row containing a time you have actually run. Everything else on that row is what the same fitness is worth elsewhere.

VDOT	1 mile	5K	10K	Half	Marathon
30	9:10	30:41	1:03:49	2:21:17	4:49:49
32	8:40	29:05	1:00:27	2:13:55	4:35:17
34	8:13	27:38	57:25	2:07:17	4:22:11
36	7:49	26:21	54:42	2:01:18	4:10:19
38	7:27	25:10	52:15	1:55:51	3:59:30
40	7:07	24:06	50:01	1:50:54	3:49:37
42	6:49	23:08	47:58	1:46:22	3:40:33
44	6:32	22:14	46:06	1:42:12	3:32:12
46	6:17	21:24	44:23	1:38:21	3:24:29
48	6:03	20:38	42:48	1:34:48	3:17:19
50	5:50	19:56	41:20	1:31:31	3:10:40
52	5:38	19:17	39:58	1:28:28	3:04:28
54	5:27	18:40	38:42	1:25:37	2:58:40
56	5:16	18:05	37:31	1:22:58	2:53:15
58	5:06	17:33	36:24	1:20:28	2:48:09
60	4:57	17:03	35:22	1:18:09	2:43:22
62	4:49	16:34	34:23	1:15:57	2:38:52
64	4:41	16:07	33:28	1:13:54	2:34:37
66	4:33	15:42	32:36	1:11:57	2:30:37
68	4:26	15:18	31:47	1:10:07	2:26:49
70	4:19	14:56	31:01	1:08:23	2:23:13

Every row is one runner’s current fitness expressed five ways. A VDOT is not a prediction that you will run these times today — it is the statement that if you can run one of them, you are in shape to run the others, given the specific training each distance needs.

VDOT training paces, per kilometre

The five Daniels intensities for every VDOT in the table above.

VDOT	Easy (E)	Marathon (M)	Threshold (T)	Interval (I)	Repetition (R)
30	8:23–7:29	6:52	6:21	5:59	5:40
32	7:59–7:07	6:31	6:02	5:40	5:21
34	7:38–6:48	6:13	5:45	5:23	5:04
36	7:18–6:30	5:56	5:30	5:07	4:49
38	7:00–6:14	5:41	5:16	4:53	4:36
40	6:44–5:59	5:27	5:03	4:41	4:23
42	6:28–5:45	5:14	4:52	4:29	4:12
44	6:14–5:32	5:02	4:41	4:18	4:02
46	6:01–5:21	4:51	4:31	4:08	3:52
48	5:49–5:10	4:41	4:22	3:59	3:44
50	5:38–5:00	4:31	4:13	3:51	3:36
52	5:28–4:51	4:22	4:05	3:43	3:28
54	5:18–4:42	4:14	3:58	3:36	3:22
56	5:09–4:34	4:06	3:51	3:29	3:15
58	5:00–4:26	3:59	3:45	3:23	3:09
60	4:52–4:19	3:52	3:39	3:17	3:04
62	4:45–4:12	3:46	3:33	3:11	2:58
64	4:37–4:06	3:40	3:27	3:06	2:53
66	4:31–4:00	3:34	3:22	3:01	2:49
68	4:24–3:54	3:29	3:17	2:56	2:44
70	4:18–3:49	3:24	3:13	2:52	2:40

All paces are per kilometre. Easy is a band (62–72% of VDOT), not a target — the slow end is the one most runners should spend their easy days at. Marathon is the marathon time this VDOT predicts, threshold is one-hour race pace, interval is 3000 m race pace, and repetition is 1500 m race pace.

The five paces, and what each is for

Daniels' system has exactly five training paces. Their names are unhelpful and their purposes are not:

E — Easy (62–72% of VDOT). The bulk of your week. Builds the aerobic base and the structural durability that lets you absorb the hard days. Almost everyone runs these too fast; the slow end of the band is usually the right end.
M — Marathon. Literally the marathon pace this VDOT predicts. Used for marathon-specific work and for long runs with a purpose.
T — Threshold. One-hour race pace, the classic definition. Comfortably hard, for 20–40 minutes of steady work or 5–15 minute cruise intervals. The single highest-return session for most runners.
I — Interval. 3000 m race pace, held for 3–5 minute repeats. Stresses VO2max directly. Hard, expensive, and easy to over-prescribe.
R — Repetition. 1500 m race pace, in short reps with full recovery. Speed and economy, not aerobic stress. Sharpens; does not build.

Every pace on this page is derived from the same two curves rather than read off a lookup table, which is why the calculator and the table agree to the second. At VDOT 50 that gives E 5:38–5:00, M 4:31, T 4:13, I 3:51 and R 3:36 per kilometre — within a few seconds of Daniels' printed values.

Where VDOT is wrong about you

The model has one blind spot and it is a large one: it knows your fitness, not your preparation.

A 20:00 5K gives you a VDOT of 49.8 and a predicted marathon of 3:11. That prediction is true of a runner with that fitness who has done marathon training. If your longest run this year is 14 km, the number is a fantasy, and the further the target distance is from the one you raced, the more of a fantasy it becomes. Seeding a marathon prediction from a 5K is the single most common way to get hurt by this tool.

Two smaller caveats. VDOT from a hilly, hot, or badly paced race understates you; VDOT from a downhill course overstates you. And a VDOT calculated in March is a statement about March.

Paces are not a plan

Knowing your threshold pace does not tell you how many threshold sessions this week, or what to drop when you miss one. A pace table is an input to a plan, not a substitute for one.

Train at these paces, in an order that works

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Fair questions

What is a good VDOT score?

There is no universal answer, because VDOT is a fitness scale rather than a grade. For context: VDOT 30 is a 30:41 5K, VDOT 40 a 24:06, VDOT 50 a 19:56, and VDOT 60 a 17:03. Most recreational runners who train consistently sit somewhere between 35 and 50.

How do I calculate my VDOT?

Enter one recent race result above. The model computes the oxygen cost of the speed you held, divides it by the fraction of maximum a runner can sustain for that duration, and the result is your VDOT. A 25:00 5K gives 38.3; a 20:00 5K gives 49.8; a 50:00 10K gives 40.0.

What are the training paces for VDOT 50?

Per kilometre: easy 5:38–5:00, marathon 4:31, threshold 4:13, interval 3:51, repetition 3:36. VDOT 50 corresponds to a 19:56 5K, a 41:20 10K, a 1:31:31 half and a 3:10:40 marathon.

Is VDOT the same as VO2 max?

No, and the different name is deliberate. VO2max is a laboratory measurement of oxygen uptake. VDOT is back-calculated from a race result, so it silently includes running economy and lactate threshold as well. Two runners with identical measured VO2max can have quite different VDOTs — and the VDOT is the better predictor of what they will race.

Can I use a 5K to predict my marathon VDOT?

You can compute it, and the arithmetic is sound, but treat the answer with suspicion. A 20:00 5K predicts a 3:11 marathon at the same fitness — which assumes marathon-specific training you may not have done. Prediction error grows with the gap between the distance you raced and the distance you are predicting.