VMA calculator
Work out your VMA from a race time or a 6-minute test and get your five training paces. Method explained, no sign-up.
Updated 16 September 2026
VMA — maximal aerobic speed — is the speed at which you consume the most oxygen. Every training pace is derived from it: get it wrong and the whole plan is wrong.
Two ways to get it without a lab: a recent race time, or a 6-minute field test. The race time is more reliable if it is less than three months old and was run all out.
Free, no sign-up. Everything is computed in your browser: nothing you type here is sent anywhere.
How it is computed
From a race time the calculation inverts the sustainable-%VMA table: a 10 km is run at about 90 % of VMA, a half marathon at 85 %, a marathon at 80 %. Your VMA is your average speed divided by that percentage. It is the convention of the French tables, and it is what lets the predictor land back exactly on the time you entered.
From the 6-minute test it is direct: the average speed held for 6 all-out minutes IS your VMA. That is the test the engine schedules at the start of a plan. A 12-minute test does not work here: it is run below VMA and would under-estimate it.
The five paces then follow as a percentage of VMA: easy 60-70 %, marathon 78-82 %, threshold 83-88 %, intervals 92-100 %, repetitions 105-115 %. Those ranges are tighter than the original VO2max zones because they are calibrated on amateur runners.
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
- Which race time should I use?
- The most recent one, run all out, ideally between 5 and 21 km. A 10 km is the best compromise: long enough to be aerobic, short enough that pacing mistakes do not distort the result. Avoid a marathon if you blew up after 30 km.
- My computed VMA does not match my track test
- It is common, and the gap is informative. A test VMA higher than the one derived from a long race means you have speed but little endurance: holding a high percentage of VMA is your weak point. The opposite means good endurance and a lack of raw speed.
- How often should I redo the test?
- Every two to three months is enough. VMA moves slowly, and an all-out test costs you a quality session. In an Endu plan it is scheduled at the start of a cycle, then after the base phase.
- VMA, VO2max and VDOT: what is the difference?
- VO2max is an oxygen flow (ml/min/kg), VMA the speed at which you reach it (km/h), and VDOT a Daniels performance index combining both. VMA is the only one of the three you can put straight onto a watch.