Softonic

VDOT Calculator

Step 1 / 3 VDOT Calculator
Your race finish time

Enter the time you ran, or the time you are aiming for. Hours and seconds can stay empty.

Next

VDOT is the running score from coach Jack Daniels that turns one race result into a fitness number, and that number sets the pace of every workout. Pick a race distance from 1,500 m to the marathon, enter the finish time, and the calculator returns your VDOT plus five training paces (easy, marathon, threshold, interval and repetition), each per kilometre and per mile.

How to find your VDOT and training paces

  1. 1

    Enter your finish time

    Type hours, minutes and seconds from a recent race or a hard time trial. Leave hours or seconds empty when they are zero. Use a time you could repeat today, not a lucky best.

  2. 2

    Choose the race distance

    Select one of nine distances: 1,500 m, 1 mile, 3 km, 5 km, 10 km, 15 km, 10 miles, the half marathon or the marathon.

  3. 3

    Read your VDOT and paces

    The result page shows your VDOT to one decimal and a table with the five training paces in minutes and seconds per kilometre and per mile.

What VDOT measures and how the paces are set

VDOT comes from Jack Daniels’ book Daniels’ Running Formula, with the equations worked out by Daniels and Jimmy Gilbert. It is not a lab VO2max. It is the VO2max a runner would need to produce the race you just ran, so it also reflects running economy and race-day form. Two runners with the same VDOT are predicted to race alike at every distance.

The two equations behind the number

With the speed v in metres per minute and the time t in minutes:

  • Oxygen cost of running: VO2 = -4.60 + 0.182258 v + 0.000104 v²
  • Share of VO2max you can hold for t minutes: 0.8 + 0.1894393 e^(-0.012778 t) + 0.2989558 e^(-0.1932605 t)
  • VDOT = VO2 / share of VO2max

For 5 km in 20:00, v is 250 m/min, the oxygen cost is 47.5 and the share is 0.953, so the VDOT is 49.8.

How the five training paces are calculated

Each pace is the speed whose oxygen cost equals a fixed share of your VDOT. The calculator solves the same VO2 equation for the speed, then converts it to time per kilometre and per mile.

Pace Share of VDOT Typical use
Easy 65% Warm-ups, recovery runs and long runs
Marathon 80% Goal marathon effort
Threshold 88% Comfortably hard tempo runs of 20 to 40 minutes
Interval 98% Hard repeats of 3 to 5 minutes with jogging recovery
Repetition 105% Short, fast repeats of 200 to 400 m with full recovery

These shares are fixed values, so paces can differ by a few seconds from the printed tables in the book. Treat each pace as a target for the effort, and slow down on hills, in heat or when tired.

Sample VDOT values for a 5 km race

5 km time VDOT Easy pace per km Threshold pace per km
16:00 64.6 4:25 3:27
18:00 56.3 4:56 3:52
20:00 49.8 5:27 4:16
22:00 44.5 5:57 4:40
25:00 38.3 6:42 5:16
30:00 30.8 7:56 6:16

Tips for a trustworthy VDOT

  • Use a race or time trial run in good conditions on a flat course. A hilly or windy race underrates your VDOT.
  • A recent result matters more than a personal best from years ago.
  • The calculator accepts times from 3 minutes to 8 hours and VDOT values from 15 to 90. Outside that range the equations are not reliable and no result is shown.
  • Update your VDOT after each new race. It usually rises slowly over a training block.

Frequently Asked Questions

It depends on age, sex and goals. A VDOT around 30 matches a 30 minute 5 km, around 40 a 24 minute 5 km, and around 50 a 20 minute 5 km. Compare yourself with your own earlier VDOT, since the useful signal is how it changes over time.

No. VO2max is a laboratory measurement of oxygen uptake. VDOT is calculated from a race result, so it also includes running economy and how well you raced. It is a performance score that is handy for setting paces, not a physiological test.

Any distance from 1,500 m to the marathon works, because the equations treat them as one scale. Results from 5 km to the half marathon are usually the most reliable. Marathon times depend heavily on pacing and fuelling, so they can give a lower VDOT than shorter races.

This calculator sets each pace at a fixed share of your VDOT (65, 80, 88, 98 and 105 percent) and solves the oxygen cost equation for the speed. The printed tables were built differently, so a difference of a few seconds per kilometre is normal.

No. The time and distance you enter are sent to our server to work out the result, and they are added to the page link as you move between steps so a result can be bookmarked or shared. They are not saved to any account or profile.

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