Enter a recent race time. Get your VDOT score, the training paces you should be running, and equivalent times at other race distances — all from Jack Daniels' Running Formula.
hr
min
sec
44.5
Your current aerobic ceiling. Use the paces below to keep your training honest — easy days easy, hard days hard.
Easy
Recovery & long runs · 65–79% VO₂ max
10:26
Tempo
Lactate threshold · 88–92% VO₂ max
8:03
Interval
VO₂ max intervals · 95–100%
7:18
5K
22:00
10K
45:37
Half Marathon
1:41:06
Marathon
3:30:01
Equivalents use Daniels' tables and Riegel's formula. They assume distance-specific training — the marathon equivalent in particular is a ceiling that depends on endurance work.
Your VDOT updates with every run.
Connect Apple Watch, Garmin, or Strava. Paces stay current. The coach builds workouts off the latest number — not a six-week-old race.
Try Threshold freeVDOT is a single number that represents your current running fitness. Coach Jack Daniels developed it as a field-usable estimate of VO₂ max — derived from a recent race time rather than lab testing. A VDOT of 50 corresponds to roughly a 20-minute 5K; a VDOT of 60 is closer to a 17:30.
The value of VDOT is that it lets you calculate the right training paces. Run your easy miles too hard and you bury yourself; run your tempo too slow and you never touch lactate threshold. The paces above are derived from your VDOT and map onto the zones Daniels prescribes in his plans.
VDOT equivalents assume you've trained for the distance you're converting to. 5K ↔ 10K ↔ half-marathon conversions track well for most runners. Marathon predictions, in particular, are a ceiling — they assume you've done the endurance-specific work (long runs, fueling practice, heat tolerance). Use the calculator as a starting point, not a goal-setting promise.
Inside Threshold, your VDOT and training paces update automatically from every run you upload — Apple Watch, Garmin, or Strava. The coach uses them to generate today's workout, and adapts when you're fatigued.
See Threshold