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Goal Pace Calculator

Enter the race time you're chasing. Get the pace you'll need to hold per mile, the VDOT it implies, and the training paces required to build that fitness — all from Jack Daniels' Running Formula.

AYour goal

Distance

Target time

hr

:

min

:

sec

Quick goals

BGoal paceper mile / km

7:26

per mile

4:37

per km

Hold 7:26/mi for Marathon to finish in 3:15:00.

CFitness requiredVDOT

48.7

A goal of 3:15:00 for the Marathon implies a VDOT of 48.7 — roughly the aerobic ceiling you'd need to hold race pace without blowing up. Train at the paces below to build that fitness.

DTraining pacesper mile

Easy

Recovery & long runs · 65–79% VO₂ max

9:39

Tempo

Lactate threshold · 88–92% VO₂ max

7:28

Interval

VO₂ max intervals · 95–100%

6:46

ESanity checkall distances

If you're truly fit enough to hit your Marathon goal, your times at other distances should be in this range.

5K

20:22

10K

42:14

Half Marathon

1:33:33

Marathon

Goal

3:15:00

Goal-aware plans, not generic ones.

Tell Threshold the race you're training for. The coach builds a plan tuned to that goal pace, watches your weekly compliance, and adjusts when your body isn't holding the prescribed work.

Try Threshold free

How to read this

Goal pace is the easy part. The training paces are the work.

Knowing you need to run 7:26/mi to break 3:15 in the marathon is straightforward arithmetic — distance over time. The harder question is whether your current fitness can sustain that pace for 26.2 miles, and the answer depends on the rest of the week, not race day itself.

That's why this tool also returns your training paces. To support a 3:15 marathon (VDOT ~50), you'd be running easy at around 9:00/mi, tempo at around 7:08/mi, and interval reps at 6:24/mi. If your current easy pace is significantly slower than that, the goal is asking for a fitness step-up, not just a race-day push.

What about Boston qualifiers?

The presets reflect the official 2026 & 2027 BQ cutoffs. A few common ones, full table on the BAA site:

Men 18–34: 2:55:00
Women 18–34: 3:25:00
Men 35–39: 3:00:00
Women 35–39: 3:30:00
Men 40–44: 3:05:00
Women 40–44: 3:35:00
Men 45–49: 3:15:00
Women 45–49: 3:45:00
Men 50–54: 3:20:00
Women 50–54: 3:50:00
Men 55–59: 3:30:00
Women 55–59: 4:00:00

Even meeting the published cutoff hasn't guaranteed entry in recent years — the BAA accepts the fastest qualifiers when the field oversubscribes. Aim a few minutes under the cutoff for safer odds.

How accurate is this?

Pace math: Exact. Goal pace is just total time divided by distance — no model, no assumption.
Implied VDOT: Uses Riegel's formula to convert your goal into an equivalent 5K, then Daniels' VDOT table. Reliable for trained runners; less so for first-time marathoners with thin endurance bases.
Training paces: Derived from VDOT. These represent the paces you'd run if your current fitness already matched the goal. If you're building toward it, your real training paces today should be a bit slower until your fitness catches up.

Inside the app

Calculators give you a number.
Threshold trains you to it.

Set a race goal in the app and the coach builds a weekly plan tuned to that pace. Sessions push to your watch with structured zones; compliance feeds back into the plan. The math here is just the first step.