Endurometry
Easy is most of the week (talk test, ~59–74% VDOT). Tempo is 20–40 minutes comfortably hard (~83–88% VDOT). The long run is an easy run that lasts longer — not a weekend race.
Last updated October 5, 2026
Almost every training plan you will ever read is built from three intensities: easy, tempo and the long run. Plans argue about volume and timing, not about what those three words mean. This page is the comparison table — one section per intensity, each with the heart-rate band and the pace range that goes with it.
The three intensities at a glance
| Intensity | % max HR | % VDOT | vs marathon pace | Typical dose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 65–79% | 59–74% | 45–75 s/km slower | 30–60 min, most of the week |
| Tempo / threshold | 88–92% | 83–88% | 15–30 s/km faster | 20–40 min, once a week |
| Long run | 65–79% | 59–74% | 60–120 s/km slower | 90–150 min, once a week |
The percentages are the reliable part. The pace offsets are rules of thumb that drift with fitness — turn them into your own numbers by putting a recent race result into the training pace calculator; everything below then becomes a specific range in min/km and min/mile instead of a feeling.
Easy pace
Easy means easy: about 65–79% of max heart rate, 59–74% of your VDOT, and roughly 45–75 seconds per kilometre slower than marathon pace. Two field tests beat any number — you can speak in complete sentences, and you finish feeling you could go again.
Nearly every runner who stalls gets this one wrong in the same direction: the easy run drifts up into the middle zone, hard enough to cost tomorrow's recovery and too soft to build anything. If you would rather run to a number than a feeling, the heart rate zone calculator turns Z2 into an actual bpm range for your own resting and max heart rate.
Tempo pace
Tempo — also called threshold — is roughly the pace you could hold for an hour: 88–92% of max heart rate, 83–88% of VDOT, typically 15–30 seconds per kilometre faster than marathon pace. It feels comfortably hard: a word or two at a time, never a full sentence.
A tempo session is 20–40 minutes at that pace, or 5–10 km continuous, with 10–15 minutes easy either side. Longer than that and you are racing, and the recovery bill arrives later in the week. Once a week is plenty for most runners; twice is fine during a focused build. The pace chart generator prints your tempo range in both min/km and min/mile from a single goal time.
Long run pace
The long run is simply an easy run that happens to be long — same 65–79% of max heart rate, usually 60–120 seconds per kilometre slower than marathon pace. The point is time on feet, not speed, and there is little extra benefit past about 150 minutes for anyone not racing ultramarathons.
What the long run is really for is rehearsal: the gel you will take on race day, the kit you will wear, the pace you plan to hold. Practise all three on the same run and race day stops containing surprises. If your race has cut-offs, check the margin with the cut-off calculator before you commit to a pace.
Which one today?
If yesterday was hard, today is easy. If you have not run hard in four days, tempo. If it is the weekend, long. The failure mode is not picking the wrong one — it is running all three at the same moderate intensity, which is tiring enough to blunt the hard sessions and slow enough to waste the easy ones.
Related Tools
Training Pace Calculator (VDOT Zones)
Get your VDOT from a recent race and see easy, marathon, threshold, interval and repetition pace zones plus heart-rate zones.
Heart Rate Zone Calculator
Calculate your five running heart-rate zones from age, resting heart rate and max heart rate using the Karvonen method.
Pace Chart Generator
Enter a goal finish time and get a pace chart in both min/km and min/mile, a speed-to-pace conversion table, your tempo pace and a printable wristband.
Running Pace Converter
Convert between min/km, min/mi, km/h and mph, and see the implied finish time for 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon.
Related guides
Training Paces Explained
What easy, marathon, threshold and interval paces are for, how to derive them from a recent race, and why most runners do their easy runs too fast.
VDOT explained
VDOT is Daniels’ endurance index from a race, not a lab VO2max. How Endurometry gets 41.5 from a 10K in 48:30 and turns it into Easy, Threshold and Interval paces.
General Physical Preparation for Runners (GPP)
What general physical preparation (GPP, or PPG in French) is, why runners need it, 10 key exercises, a 30-minute session and an 8-week plan that fits around your running.
How the numbers are calculated
Frequently Asked Questions
What pace should my easy run be?
About 45–75 seconds per kilometre slower than your marathon pace, or 65–79% of max heart rate. The talk test is the simplest check: full sentences, no management of breathing.
How long should a tempo run be?
20–40 minutes at tempo pace, or 5–10 km continuous, plus 10–15 minutes easy warm-up and cool-down. Beyond 40 minutes it stops being a tempo session.
Is the long run the same pace as an easy run?
Yes — the intensity is the same, only the duration changes. Many runners run long runs slightly too fast and arrive at the next hard session already tired.
Want a new tool or fix?
Tell us which calculator, pace chart or fix would help — we build what runners ask for. Replies usually come back in 1–2 days.