A VDOT of 40 equals roughly a 24:06 5K, 50:01 10K, 1:50:54 half marathon and 3:49:37 marathon. A VDOT of 50 equals about 19:56, 41:20, 1:31:31 and 3:10:40. Between VDOT 40 and 50, each 2-point step is worth roughly 40–60 seconds over 5K and 6½–9 minutes over the marathon. The full chart below runs from VDOT 30 (a 30:41 5K) to VDOT 70 (a 14:56 5K).
Read every row as “equivalent aerobic performances”, not as a set of times you can run today. The 5K and 10K columns hold up well. The marathon column assumes you have trained for a marathon. To see how a time compares with other runners your age, use the age-graded charts for the 5K and the marathon.
What VDOT is
VDOT comes from Jack Daniels and mathematician Jimmy Gilbert, who published it in Oxygen Power: Performance Tables for Distance Runners (1979). Daniels later built his training system around it in Daniels’ Running Formula, now in its 4th edition, where it has its own chapter.
The name means “V-dot-O2”, a performance-based stand-in for VO2max. It is not a lab VO2max. The official V.O2 FAQ points out that runners with the same VO2max can race differently because of economy, biomechanics and other factors (V.O2 FAQ). VDOT folds all of that into one number from a race result. Two runners with the same VDOT are expected to race the same distances in similar times, whatever their lab numbers say.
How the VDOT equations work
Daniels and Gilbert fitted two curves to data from runners.
1. Oxygen cost of running speed. For velocity v in metres per minute:
VO2 = −4.60 + 0.182258·v + 0.000104·v² (ml/kg/min)2. The fraction of VO2max you can sustain for a race lasting t minutes:
%VO2max = 0.8 + 0.1894393·e^(−0.012778·t) + 0.2989558·e^(−0.1932605·t)This curve is close to 100% for an all-out effort of about 11 minutes. It falls toward the low 80s by marathon duration.
VDOT = VO2 ÷ %VO2max. To build a chart, you run the equations in reverse. For each VDOT and distance, the calculator searches for the finish time whose speed and duration give back that VDOT.
The Endurance Toolbox implements these published equations directly. It does not copy the official VDOT lookup tables, which are proprietary. Our numbers can differ slightly from printed tables or the official app.
VDOT chart: VDOT 30–50
Computed with the Endurance Toolbox VDOT calculator, using the Daniels–Gilbert oxygen-cost and %VO2max equations above. Times are H:MM:SS or M:SS.
| VDOT | 1500m | Mile | 5K | 10K | Half marathon | Marathon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 8:30 | 9:10 | 30:41 | 1:03:49 | 2:21:17 | 4:49:49 |
| 32 | 8:01 | 8:40 | 29:05 | 1:00:27 | 2:13:55 | 4:35:17 |
| 34 | 7:36 | 8:13 | 27:38 | 57:26 | 2:07:17 | 4:22:11 |
| 36 | 7:14 | 7:49 | 26:21 | 54:42 | 2:01:18 | 4:10:19 |
| 38 | 6:54 | 7:27 | 25:10 | 52:15 | 1:55:51 | 3:59:31 |
| 40 | 6:35 | 7:07 | 24:06 | 50:01 | 1:50:54 | 3:49:37 |
| 42 | 6:18 | 6:49 | 23:08 | 47:58 | 1:46:22 | 3:40:33 |
| 44 | 6:03 | 6:32 | 22:14 | 46:06 | 1:42:12 | 3:32:12 |
| 46 | 5:49 | 6:17 | 21:24 | 44:23 | 1:38:21 | 3:24:29 |
| 48 | 5:36 | 6:03 | 20:38 | 42:48 | 1:34:48 | 3:17:19 |
| 50 | 5:24 | 5:50 | 19:56 | 41:20 | 1:31:31 | 3:10:40 |
VDOT table: VDOT 52–70
| VDOT | 1500m | Mile | 5K | 10K | Half marathon | Marathon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52 | 5:13 | 5:38 | 19:17 | 39:58 | 1:28:28 | 3:04:28 |
| 54 | 5:02 | 5:27 | 18:40 | 38:42 | 1:25:37 | 2:58:40 |
| 56 | 4:53 | 5:16 | 18:05 | 37:31 | 1:22:58 | 2:53:15 |
| 58 | 4:44 | 5:06 | 17:33 | 36:24 | 1:20:28 | 2:48:09 |
| 60 | 4:35 | 4:57 | 17:03 | 35:22 | 1:18:09 | 2:43:22 |
| 62 | 4:27 | 4:49 | 16:34 | 34:23 | 1:15:57 | 2:38:52 |
| 64 | 4:20 | 4:41 | 16:07 | 33:28 | 1:13:54 | 2:34:37 |
| 66 | 4:13 | 4:33 | 15:42 | 32:36 | 1:11:57 | 2:30:36 |
| 68 | 4:06 | 4:26 | 15:18 | 31:47 | 1:10:07 | 2:26:49 |
| 70 | 4:00 | 4:19 | 14:56 | 31:01 | 1:08:23 | 2:23:13 |
To read the chart, find your most recent all-out race in its column. The row gives your approximate VDOT, and the other columns show the equivalent performances. If your time falls between two rows, interpolate. A 26:00 5K, for example, falls between VDOT 36 and 38, closer to 36.
VDOT 40, 45 and 50 race times with paces
These three scores come up often, because they sit near common goals: a 50-minute 10K, a 3:30 marathon and a 20-minute 5K. Same equations, with race pace per kilometre and per mile.
| VDOT | 5K | 10K | Half marathon | Marathon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 24:06 (4:49/km, 7:45/mi) | 50:01 (5:00/km, 8:03/mi) | 1:50:54 (5:15/km, 8:28/mi) | 3:49:37 (5:27/km, 8:45/mi) |
| 45 | 21:49 (4:22/km, 7:01/mi) | 45:14 (4:31/km, 7:17/mi) | 1:40:14 (4:45/km, 7:39/mi) | 3:28:16 (4:56/km, 7:57/mi) |
| 50 | 19:56 (3:59/km, 6:25/mi) | 41:20 (4:08/km, 6:39/mi) | 1:31:31 (4:20/km, 6:59/mi) | 3:10:40 (4:31/km, 7:16/mi) |
So a runner at VDOT 45 who targets a 3:30 marathon is aiming slightly slower than their modelled equivalent (3:28:16). That leaves a small margin, provided the marathon-specific work is done. The split-by-split version of that goal is on the 3:30 marathon pace chart.
Worked example 1: a 25:00 5K
Step 1: speed and duration. 5,000 m in 25 minutes is 200 m/min.
Step 2: oxygen cost. −4.60 + 0.182258 × 200 + 0.000104 × 200² = 36.01 ml/kg/min.
Step 3: sustainable fraction. At t = 25 minutes, the %VO2max curve gives 0.940. A 25-minute race uses about 94% of VDOT.
Step 4: VDOT. 36.01 ÷ 0.940 = 38.3.
Step 5: equivalents. At VDOT 38.3 the model predicts a 51:53 10K, a 1:55:04 half and a 3:57:55 marathon (5:38/km, 9:04/mi). Over about 238 minutes, the duration curve allows only about 81% of VDOT. That is why the marathon pace is 38 seconds per km slower than the 5:00/km 5K pace.
For comparison, the site’s Riegel predictor gives 3:59:47 from the same 5K with the standard exponent of 1.06, and 4:10:14 with a more conservative 1.08. Both models agree that this runner is “sub-4 capable” on paper. Turning that into a sub-4 marathon depends on long runs, fuelling and pacing that a 5K result says nothing about. See the 25:00 5K pace chart and the 4:00 marathon pace chart for the splits on each side.
Why marathon predictions from short races run aggressive
Vickers and Vertosick surveyed 2,303 recreational runners. They found that Riegel’s formula was well calibrated up to the half marathon but “dramatically underestimated marathon time, giving times at least 10 min too fast for half of runners” (Vickers & Vertosick, 2016). They tested Riegel, not VDOT. But the VDOT and Riegel marathon predictions from a 25:00 5K land within two minutes of each other here, so the same caution applies. They also found that typical weekly mileage was associated with race speed at every distance.
Worked example 2: two races, two VDOTs
A runner ran a 1:50:00 half marathon in spring and a 4:00:00 marathon in autumn.
- The half gives VDOT 40.4. Its marathon equivalent is 3:47:50.
- The marathon gives VDOT 37.9. Its 5K equivalent is 25:14, against 23:55 from the half.
The 2.5-point gap is common, and the official V.O2 FAQ treats it as information rather than error. Some athletes are stronger at shorter distances. Weather, terrain and mental approach also have larger effects the longer the race (V.O2 FAQ). For this runner, 40.4 describes their aerobic potential. 37.9 describes what they can currently hold for four hours. The gap shows how much marathon-specific durability is missing. A 1:50 half marathon pace chart is a sound benchmark for the half. For the next marathon, a target between the two predictions is more defensible than the faster one.
Limitations of any VDOT chart
- Marathon endurance is assumed. The duration curve describes a runner trained for the distance. Low mileage, weak fuelling or a first marathon can push real times well past the chart.
- Heat. Ely and colleagues analysed decades of results from seven marathons. Performance slowed step by step as wet-bulb globe temperature rose from 5 to 25 °C, and slower runners were hit harder than the leaders (Ely et al., 2007). The chart assumes cool conditions.
- Altitude, hills and surface. The oxygen-cost equation describes level running at low altitude. A hilly course, trail, or race at altitude will produce a lower “VDOT” that understates your fitness.
- Short-race extrapolation. The model’s 1500m and mile columns depend on anaerobic speed, which varies a lot between runners. A marathoner may not match them.
- Not the official tables. Values come from the published equations, not the proprietary VDOT tables or the current official app. Expect small differences, and use either source on its own terms.
- Not medical guidance. VDOT says nothing about whether a given training load is safe for you. If you have a heart, respiratory or other health condition, check with a clinician before racing all-out to test your fitness.
How to use the VDOT calculator with this chart
Open the VDOT calculator, choose the distance of a recent all-out race (1500m to marathon), and enter your finish time. Pick a race on a flat course in mild weather. You’ll get:
- Your VDOT to one decimal place.
- Equivalent times and paces for 1500m, mile, 3K, 5K, 10K, 15K, half and marathon. These come from the same equations used for this chart.
- Five modelled pace references (easy, marathon, threshold, interval, repetition). They come from fixed fractions of your VDOT, not the official training tables, so adjust them by effort and conditions.
If you have two recent races, use the comparison option. It shows both endpoints for your target race, like the 3:47:50 and 4:00:00 in example 2, rather than averaging them. To cross-check a long-race prediction with a tunable fatigue exponent, use the Riegel predictor. To turn a goal time into splits, use the pace charts, such as the 20:00 5K or 50:00 10K pages.