Built by Tommo, Verus founder — free to use, no account required.
Training Pace Calculator
One race result, five training paces.
Training Pace Calculator
Enter a recent race result to get your Easy, Marathon, Threshold, Interval and Repetition training paces.
Your recent race result
Estimated VDOT
49.8
Easy (E)
4:54–5:53 /km
Recovery and aerobic base miles — should feel conversational.
Marathon (M)
4:26–4:51 /km
Sustainable marathon race effort — comfortably hard over distance.
Threshold (T)
4:16–4:28 /km
Tempo effort — "comfortably hard," sustainable for 20-60 minutes.
Interval (I)
3:51–4:01 /km
VO2max intervals — hard effort, typically 3-5 minute reps.
Repetition (R)
3:19–3:42 /km
Fast, short reps for speed and running economy — not an all-out sprint.
Estimated from the published Daniels-Gilbert VO2max/race-performance model — the same exercise-science equations behind the VDOT training method. Treat these as effort-based ranges to train within, not exact targets; how you feel on the day should always take priority.
Use It On A Real Race
About This Tool
A single pace number doesn't tell you how hard to run on an easy day versus a hard one. This calculator estimates your VDOT — a measure of running fitness — from a recent race result, then derives the pace ranges for the five training efforts used in the VDOT method popularized by exercise physiologist Jack Daniels: Easy, Marathon, Threshold, Interval and Repetition. It's built on the same published VO2max/performance equations that method is based on, computed independently rather than reproducing anyone's lookup tables.
How To Use It
- Enter the distance and time from your most recent race — the more recent and closer to your current fitness, the better.
- Your estimated VDOT score appears, along with five training pace zones.
- Use Easy pace for most of your weekly mileage, Threshold for tempo sessions, and Interval/Repetition for structured speed work.
- Re-test every 4-6 weeks as your fitness changes — VDOT and training paces shift as you improve.
One race result, five paces
Most runners know roughly what pace they race at. Far fewer know what pace they should be running on a Tuesday evening, and 'run easy' without a number attached is advice that is almost impossible to follow correctly.
This calculator solves that specific problem. It takes one real race result, estimates your running-specific aerobic capacity from it, and converts that into five training zones — each one targeting a different physiological system, each with an actual pace attached.
What each zone is for
| Zone | What it trains | How it should feel |
|---|---|---|
| Easy (E) | Aerobic base, capillary density, mitochondria — and recovery | Conversational. You could hold a conversation without gasping. |
| Marathon (M) | Sustained race-specific effort | Comfortably hard. Sustainable for hours, not minutes. |
| Threshold (T) | The pace you can hold before lactate accumulates faster than you clear it | Comfortably hard in a different sense — 20 to 60 minutes at a stretch. |
| Interval (I) | VO2 max itself | Hard. About the pace you could race for 10 to 12 minutes. |
| Repetition (R) | Running economy and neuromuscular speed | Fast but controlled, with full recovery. Mile-race effort, not a sprint. |
The zones exist because each trains something different. Easy running builds the aerobic machinery without the fatigue cost that would stop you doing it often. Threshold work raises the pace you can sustain before lactate accumulates. Intervals push the ceiling. Repetitions make you more efficient at every pace below them.
Why your easy pace looks too slow
This is the single most common reaction to the output, and the number is not wrong. For a runner targeting a four-hour marathon — racing at 9:09 per mile — easy pace comes out at somewhere between 9:49 and 11:44 per mile. Nearly two minutes a mile slower than race pace at the slow end.
That gap is the point rather than an error. The most common training mistake among non-professional runners is not skipping hard sessions, it is running easy days too hard: arriving at every quality session already fatigued, capping how much real work you can do, and accumulating tiredness across weeks without the fitness that should accompany it.
The test
If you cannot hold a conversation in full sentences, you are not running easy, whatever the watch says. Slowing down on easy days is what allows the volume that makes everything else work.
Building a week from the paces
- 4-5 days at Easy pace including the long run, which can run slightly slower again on the longest days.
- One Threshold session a week — continuous tempo or cruise intervals with short recoveries.
- One Interval or Repetition session, alternating focus with your race distance and training phase.
- At least one full rest or cross-training day.
- A lower-volume week roughly every fourth week, so the training gets absorbed rather than just accumulated.
Re-test, or the paces go stale
These paces are a snapshot of current fitness, not a fixed property. Re-enter a new race result or an honest time trial every four to six weeks during a block, or you will spend the back half of a training cycle running paces that were correct two months ago.
Equally, the paces are targets to train within rather than numbers to hit regardless of how you feel. They do not know about your sleep, your life stress, the hill you are running up or the weather. A genuinely bad-feeling day is better information than a number on a screen.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is VDOT in running?
VDOT is an estimate of your running-specific VO2max, derived from a race performance rather than a lab test. It condenses your current fitness into one number that can then be used to calculate appropriate training paces for different types of sessions.
How do I calculate my training paces?
Enter a recent race result above. The calculator estimates your VDOT from that result, then computes five pace zones — Easy, Marathon, Threshold, Interval and Repetition — based on percentages of the VO2max that result implies.
What's the difference between Threshold and Interval pace?
Threshold (T) pace is a 'comfortably hard' effort you could sustain for 20-60 minutes — commonly used for tempo runs. Interval (I) pace is harder, run at roughly VO2max effort in short reps (typically 3-5 minutes) with recovery between them.
How do I know my easy pace is slow enough?
You should be able to hold a conversation in full sentences. If you cannot, you are not running easy whatever the watch says. For most runners the correct easy pace is 60 to 90 seconds per mile slower than instinct suggests, and that gap is the point rather than an error.
How often should I recalculate my training paces?
Every four to six weeks during a training block, from a new race or an honest time trial. These paces are a snapshot of current fitness, so training a whole cycle off a result from two months ago means running the back half of it at paces that no longer match you.
Why do my Threshold intervals feel too easy or too hard?
The gap between Threshold and Interval pace is bigger than the names suggest — typically 15-25 seconds/mile, not a small step up. If you can't hold your Threshold pace for the full continuous block as prescribed, you're running it too close to Interval effort; if a Threshold session feels easy throughout, you're probably running it too close to Marathon pace instead.