Summit LineGet started free →

⏵ Free tool · No signup

Training Pace Calculator

Drop in one recent race and you get your VDOT plus the five training paces that drive a smart plan: Easy, Marathon, Threshold and Tempo, Interval, and Repetition. They show up per mile and per kilometer as sensible ranges, run on the same Jack Daniels VDOT engine the Summit Line app uses to score your fitness.

⏵ A RECENT RACE

ENTER YOUR RESULT

Race distance
mi
Finish time
hr
min
sec

Use your most recent honest race effort. A 5K to a marathon gives the most reliable VDOT, ultra finish times work too but lean conservative.

Show paces in
⏵ YOUR FITNESS SCORE

VDOT

40
Daniels VDOT, a single fitness number from your race. Higher is faster. Roughly 40 is recreational, 50 competitive amateur, 60 plus is sub-elite.
⏵ YOUR TRAINING PACES

PER MILE

  1. E
    Easy
    Conversational base and recovery miles. The bulk of your week.
    9:39 to 10:24
  2. M
    Marathon
    Steady marathon-effort pace. Long-run and goal-pace work.
    8:50 to 9:02
  3. T
    Threshold / Tempo
    Comfortably hard, about one-hour race effort. Tempo runs and cruise intervals.
    8:03 to 8:15
  4. I
    Interval
    3K to 5K effort. VO2max intervals, 3 to 5 minutes hard.
    7:29 to 7:43
  5. R
    Repetition
    Mile-race speed and economy. Short, fast reps with full recovery.
    7:10 to 7:18

Paces are ranges, not exact targets. Daniels zones are intensity bands, run to feel and to the high or low end based on terrain, heat, and how fresh you are.

⏵ Paces are step one

Knowing your paces is the easy part. Getting them into your week is where it gets hard. Summit Line builds a plan that actually schedules these paces, easy volume, tempo, and intervals, around your race, your fitness trend, and the days you can run.

Get a plan with these paces →See it on a real plan

How training paces work

This calculator runs on the Jack Daniels Running Formula, the most widely used way to turn a race result into training paces. The idea is simple. One honest race tells you where your fitness is right now, and from that one number you can read the right speed for every kind of run. Here is what each piece means.

VDOT: one number from one race

VDOT is Jack Daniels and Jimmy Gilbert’s single-number summary of running fitness. It is built from your race velocity and the fraction of VO2max you can hold for the length of that race, using their empirical equations. You put in a distance and a finish time, the model works out the oxygen cost of running that fast and the intensity you held, and out comes a VDOT, usually somewhere between 30 and 85, where higher is faster.

The nice thing about VDOT is that two runners with the same score train at the same paces, no matter which event they ran to earn it. A 22-minute 5K and a 3:30 marathon point to similar fitness, so they give you similar training paces. This calculator runs the exact same VDOT engine the Summit Line app uses under the hood to score fitness and project finish times across distances.

The five zones: E, M, T, I, R

Daniels splits training into five intensity zones, and each one has its own job. Easy (E) is conversational aerobic running, the foundation of the week. Marathon (M) is steady goal-marathon effort, good for long runs and race-pace practice. Threshold (T) is comfortably hard, near your one-hour race pace, and it is where tempo runs and cruise intervals live. Interval (I) is 3K to 5K effort that builds VO2max in 3 to 5 minute repeats. Repetition (R) is mile-race speed for economy and turnover, run as short, fast reps with full recovery.

Each zone here is the equivalent race pace at the duration that zone matches, read straight off your VDOT. Threshold comes from your 10K to 15K equivalent (about an hour of racing), Interval from your 3K to 5K equivalent, Repetition from your mile equivalent, and Easy from a set band slower than your marathon pace. That is why you get ranges and not single made-up numbers. The zones are intensity bands, and honest paces respect that.

Why paces beat heart rate for workouts

Pace zones give you a target right away, with no lag. Heart rate drifts up over a long run even at the same effort, lags behind sudden surges, and swings around with heat, caffeine, and sleep. For structured quality work, hitting a Threshold or Interval pace is more repeatable than chasing a heart-rate number that shows up a minute late. Heart rate is still great for reining in your easy days and as a cross-check, but the pace is what makes a tempo a tempo.

The catch is that flat-road paces do not carry over cleanly to steep trail or altitude. On real terrain you run these zones by effort, not by the GPS number, and that is exactly why trail and ultra training leans on grade-adjusted pace and effort-based pacing. Use the road paces below to calibrate, then switch to effort when the ground tilts up.

Easy should dominate your week

The most common mistake is running your easy days too hard and your hard days too easy, so every run lands in a moderate gray zone that is too taxing to recover from and too soft to drive any adaptation. The fix is the rough 80/20 split. About 80 percent of your weekly volume genuinely easy, and the other 20 percent at threshold, interval, and repetition intensity.

Easy volume builds the aerobic engine, capillaries, mitochondria, and fatigue resistance, while keeping the stress low enough that you can absorb the quality sessions. When easy is truly easy, the hard days can be truly hard, and that contrast is what makes the block work. The paces above draw the line for you. Run the easy band on easy days, and save the faster bands for the sessions that earn them.

Training pace FAQ

What is a training pace?

A training pace is the speed you aim for on a given workout, and it is set by what the workout is for, not by how hard you can possibly go. The Jack Daniels system breaks these into five zones: Easy, Marathon, Threshold, Interval, and Repetition. Each one trains a different thing, from aerobic base at the easy end to speed and economy at the fast end. When you pull your paces off a recent race, every run stays honest. Your easy days stay actually easy, and your hard days hit the intensity that actually moves the needle.

What pace should my easy runs be?

Easy pace is conversational, the speed where you could hold a full conversation, and honestly it should feel almost too slow. In Daniels terms it sits roughly 45 to 90 seconds per mile slower than your marathon pace, in the 59 to 74 percent of VO2max effort band. Easy running is about volume and building the aerobic engine with low stress, not speed, and most people run it way too fast. If you cannot talk in full sentences, you are going too hard.

Tempo vs threshold pace, what is the difference?

In the Daniels framework, threshold pace is the anchor and tempo is just one way to run it. Threshold (T) pace is comfortably hard, about the pace you could race for one hour, near your 10K to 15K race pace, and it sits right at your lactate threshold. A classic tempo run is a steady 20 to 40 minute effort at that T pace. You can also run threshold as cruise intervals, longer reps at T pace with short rests. Same zone, same physiology, just a different format. People throw tempo and threshold around loosely, but the pace is the same.

How do I find my interval pace?

Interval (I) pace is your 3K to 5K race effort, the pace you can hold for about 3 to 5 minutes of hard work. It is the zone that builds VO2max, your aerobic ceiling. The easiest way to find it is to drop a recent 5K or 10K into a VDOT calculator like this one and read the interval pace it gives you. Run your intervals as repeats of 3 to 5 minutes at that pace with roughly equal recovery, and stop the session before your form falls apart. The goal is quality time at VO2max, not running yourself into the ground.

What is VDOT and how is it calculated?

VDOT is a single fitness number Jack Daniels came up with to sum up a race performance. It comes from your running velocity and the percentage of VO2max you can hold for a given time, using the Daniels and Gilbert equations. In plain terms you put in a race distance and a finish time, the formula turns that into an oxygen cost and a sustainable intensity, and what comes out is your VDOT, usually 30 to 85, where higher is faster. Two runners with the same VDOT get the same training paces. This calculator runs VDOT on the same engine the Summit Line app uses to score fitness across distances.

How many of my runs should be easy?

For most runners, about 80 percent of your weekly mileage should be easy, and the other 20 percent at threshold, interval, and repetition intensity. That split is what lets you absorb the hard sessions. Easy volume builds the aerobic engine and keeps fatigue in check, while a small dose of quality drives the sharp adaptations. The usual mistake is letting easy days creep into a moderate gray zone, too hard to recover from, too easy to improve from. Keep the easy truly easy so the hard can be truly hard.

Keep going

⏵ MORE FREE TOOLS

Calculators

⏵ TRAINING GUIDES

Go deeper

Get a plan that schedules these paces

Summit Line reads your real fitness off your own runs, projects your race-day VDOT, and lays out a week that puts easy volume, tempo, and intervals where they belong. Paces from your own training, an AI race brief, and a plan you can actually follow.

Get started free →Explore the demo

Paces come from the Jack Daniels VDOT model and are flat-road estimates given as ranges. They are a starting point, not exact prescriptions. The model is calibrated for races up to the marathon, so ultra and steep-trail efforts should be run by effort rather than GPS pace. Always adjust for terrain, heat, altitude, and how you feel, and talk to a qualified professional for any medical concerns.