Training pace calculator
Your five paces in min/km from your VMA or a race time: easy, marathon, threshold, intervals, repetitions — each with its use.
Updated 16 September 2026
Most amateur runners run everything at the same pace: too fast to recover, too slow to improve. The five zones below exist to avoid precisely that.
The single most profitable rule in training fits on one line: roughly 80 % of the volume easy, 20 % hard. Easy pace should let you hold a conversation — if it does not, it is too fast.
Between 8 and 25 km/h
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How it is computed
Each zone is a percentage band of your VMA, converted into a pace. Easy 60-70 %, marathon 78-82 %, threshold 83-88 %, intervals 92-100 %, repetitions 105-115 %.
If you enter a race time rather than a VMA, the VMA is first derived through Daniels’ VDOT, then the zones are computed the same way. The result matches the VMA calculator exactly.
These bands are deliberately narrow. A wide easy zone invites drift: you run at the top of it every day, and the next day’s quality session is ruined.
The plans built from this number
Now the plan that goes with it
These numbers are exactly the ones Endu uses to build a full preparation: phases, volume, detailed sessions, exported to your watch. 14-day trial, cancel any time.
Create my planFrequently asked questions
- My easy pace looks absurdly slow
- It is the most common reaction, and it almost always means you were running too fast before. Easy running builds the aerobic engine without fatigue: it is supposed to feel uncomfortably slow. The benefit shows up in the hard sessions, not the easy ones.
- Should I run by pace or by heart rate?
- By pace on flat ground in cool weather, by feel as soon as there is wind, heat or elevation. Heart rate is a good guardrail on long easy runs, but it lags too much on short intervals.
- Do these paces apply to trail running?
- The zones still hold, but pace per kilometre stops meaning anything as soon as it climbs. On trails you think in effort and elevation: use the effort-kilometre calculator to convert your route, then apply these paces on the flat sections.
- Why five zones and not three or seven?
- Because each maps to a real session: easy run, long run at marathon pace, threshold tempo, long intervals, strides. Beyond that, zones overlap without changing what you actually do with your week.