Training Zones with VDOT
What is VDOT?
VDOT is a single number that summarises your current running fitness. It comes from Jack Daniels, longtime coach and exercise physiologist, who introduced it in Daniels’ Running Formula.
The idea is simple. Take any recent race performance, run it through Daniels’ formula, and you get a VDOT score — typically between 30 and 85. A 5K in 20:00 maps to roughly VDOT 50. A marathon in 3:30 lands at about 45.
Once you have a number, you can read across to the training paces that match your fitness — easy, marathon, threshold, intervals, and short reps.
How to use it
The flow is small:
- Pick a recent race or hard time trial. 5K, 10K, half, marathon — any of them works.
- Enter the distance and finish time. You get a VDOT number.
- Read your training paces from the table on the right. These are the paces Daniels recommends for each effort level at your current fitness.
You can also enter your VDOT directly if you already know it from another source, or pick any distance via the + button if your race is not in the preset list.
What the zones mean
The five paces map onto qualitatively different efforts:
- Easy (E) — conversational, builds aerobic base. Published as a range; anywhere in it is fine.
- Marathon (M) — long-race sustainable. Useful for steady tempo work.
- Threshold (T) — comfortably hard, around your lactate threshold. About a one-hour race effort.
- Interval (I) — VO₂max reps. 3 to 5 minute hard intervals.
- Repetition (R) — fast, short reps focused on speed and economy.
Each gets harder as you go down the list, with shorter time-on-feet to match.
Things to keep in mind
VDOT is a snapshot, not a destiny. It assumes you ran the race fully rested and roughly at your current ceiling. If you raced a 5K mid-block on tired legs, your VDOT will look lower than your true fitness.
It also does not account for terrain, altitude, weather, or fueling — same caveats as any pace-based system. A 22:00 5K on a flat road in cool weather sends a different signal than the same time on a hilly trail in summer.
And: do not chase VDOT. Use it to set honest training paces, then let the training do the work. The number is a tool, not the goal.