Enter one recent race and get your five training paces and your equivalent times at every distance, built on the VDOT® method Jack Daniels published in Daniels' Running Formula. It is the same starting point I use with every new athlete.
| Zone | Per mile | Per km | What it's for |
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What this fitness predicts at other distances, if you're trained for them. A 5K time predicts marathon fitness, not marathon readiness: the mileage still has to be there.
| Race | Predicted time | Pace per mile |
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VDOT® is a registered trademark of The Run SMART Project, LLC. RunFitCoach is an independent coaching practice and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by The Run SMART Project, V.O2, or Dr. Jack Daniels. This calculator is an independent implementation of the training methodology published in Daniels' Running Formula. The official VDOT calculator is available at vdoto2.com.
The easy range is the pace most runners get wrong, almost always by running it too fast. Live in it for about 80% of your weekly time. The threshold pace is your once-a-week "comfortably hard." And recalculate after every race: the number should move, that's the point. If a pace feels wrong on a given day, the day is right and the chart is wrong.
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A calculator gives everyone the same math. I read your training history, your recovery, and your week, then write and tune the plan by hand. It starts with a free 20-minute call, no pressure.
Book a free intro callVDOT is a fitness score developed by coach Jack Daniels. It converts a recent race result into a single number that reflects your current running fitness, then derives your training paces from it: easy, marathon, threshold, interval and repetition. One honest race time gives you a full set of paces. The full explainer covers how a coach actually uses it.
No. This calculator is an independent implementation of the training methodology Jack Daniels published in Daniels' Running Formula. VDOT® is a registered trademark of The Run SMART Project, LLC, and the official VDOT calculator lives at vdoto2.com. RunFitCoach is not affiliated with or endorsed by The Run SMART Project or V.O2.
The training paces are reliable if the race you enter was a genuine, recent, all-out effort. The equivalent race times assume you are trained for that distance: a 5K time predicts marathon fitness, not marathon readiness. You still need the mileage and the long runs before the marathon number is real.
After every race, or roughly every 4 to 6 weeks in a training block. Fitness moves, and paces should move with it. If your easy runs feel labored at the calculated pace, trust your body and back off: the number is a guardrail, not an order.