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VDOT Calculator

VDOT turns one race result into a fitness number and a set of training paces. A 5K in 20:00 is VDOT 49.8, which means easy runs at about 4:54–5:53 per km and threshold runs at about 4:16–4:28 per km. Enter your own race below.

h:mm:ss or mm:ss

Your VDOT49.8
Training paces for VDOT 49.8
Paceper kmper mile% of VDOTUse
Easy / long4:54–5:537:54–9:2859–74 %Most of your running. Conversational.
Marathon4:327:18race paceYour predicted marathon race pace.
Threshold4:16–4:286:52–7:1283–88 %"Comfortably hard". Tempo runs and cruise intervals.
Interval3:51–4:016:11–6:2795–100 %Hard repeats of about 3 to 5 minutes.
VDOT is a performance number, not a lab VO2max. Want to estimate your VO2max with a field test? Try the calculator on vo2max.io.

Formula used

Daniels and Gilbert (1979), with speed v in metres per minute and race time t in minutes:

VO2 = −4.60 + 0.182258·v + 0.000104·v²

%VO2max = 0.8 + 0.1894393·e^(−0.012778·t) + 0.2989558·e^(−0.1932605·t)

VDOT = VO2 ÷ %VO2max

Check: a 5K in 20:00 gives VDOT 49.8. A VDOT of 80.5 gives a 10,000 m time of 27:33 here, against 27:32.5 in the published Oxygen Power tables.

How the training paces are found

Each intensity is a share of your VDOT, taken from Daniels’ Running Formula: easy 59–74 %, threshold 83–88 % and interval 95–100 %. We put that share into the oxygen cost equation and solve it for speed. Marathon pace is your predicted marathon race pace for the same VDOT.

Worked example

5K in 20:00: speed is 5,000 m ÷ 20 min = 250 m/min. Oxygen cost = −4.60 + 0.182258 × 250 + 0.000104 × 250² = 47.46. The share you can hold for 20 minutes is 0.953. VDOT = 47.46 ÷ 0.953 = 49.8.

See what that VDOT means for other races in the race time predictor.

Questions and answers

What is VDOT?

VDOT is a number from Jack Daniels and Jimmy Gilbert that rates a race performance. It is based on the oxygen cost of running at your race speed and how long you can hold a given share of your maximum. It is a performance number, not a VO2max measured in a lab.

What VDOT is a 20-minute 5K?

49.8. That gives easy runs of about 4:54–5:53 per km and threshold runs of about 4:16–4:28 per km.

Which race should I use?

A recent, all-out race on a flat, accurately measured course. A 5K to half marathon usually works best. Training runs and hilly or hot races give a lower number.

Why are the paces shown as ranges?

Daniels gives each training intensity as a range of the VDOT, for example 83 to 88 % for threshold. We turn both ends of that range into a pace. Published tables round the numbers, so they can differ from ours by a few seconds.

Why is there no repetition pace?

Sources disagree on how to express repetition pace as a percentage, so we left it out rather than guess.

Sources

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