Going off too fast
The most common mistake. In the first few minutes, threshold pace feels slow, so you speed up, and the session becomes a botched vVO₂max session. The right pace is the one you'd hold for about an hour in a race.
RunningThresholdIntermediate 45 min
20-minute tempo run
The tempo run: 20 continuous minutes at threshold pace, 87–91% of your vVO₂max, a 'comfortably hard' pace. 45 minutes in all. The backbone of threshold training, for raising the pace you can hold for a long time, from 10K to marathon.
Session profile4 blocks
At a glance
- Duration
- 45 min
- Main target
- 87–91%vVO₂max4 Z4 · Threshold
- Time at target
- 20 min
- Estimated load
- 53
- Structure
- 20′ at 87–91% vVO₂max
- Level
- Intermediate
- Equipment
- GPS watch
The session in detail
vVO₂max
Time in zone
- Z120 min
- Z25 min
- Z420 min
What the targets mean
| Target | Zone | Time | vVO₂max 14 km/h | vVO₂max 16 km/h | vVO₂max 18 km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 87–91% | 4Threshold | 20 min | 4:56/km–4:43/km | 4:19/km–4:07/km | 3:50/km–3:40/km |
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What this session is for
The tempo run raises your threshold, the pace beyond which fatigue runs away with you. Running 20 minutes just below that limit pushes your body to lift it: afterwards you hold a faster pace for longer without blowing up. It's the pace behind your 10K and your half, and it makes your marathon pace feel more comfortable.
It also teaches you something intervals don't: holding an even pace with no break, while the urge to ease off comes back every couple of minutes. For Jack Daniels, a tempo run of about 20 minutes is one of the two forms of threshold training, alongside cruise intervals. No study has tested this exact format: it rests on the practice of respected coaches.
Who it's for
Regular runners from 10K to marathon, with at least 2 to 3 runs a week for a few months. You need a recently measured vVO₂max to set the pace. If 20 continuous minutes is still too long, start with cruise intervals, which split the same effort into 5-minute blocks.
When to do it
One threshold session a week is a common guideline: the tempo run can alternate with cruise intervals. Keep the next day easy, and avoid the day before a long run, another hard session or a race. To progress, extend the tempo in steps up to 30 to 40 minutes if you're training for a marathon, or switch to a progression tempo.
How to do it
Warm-up
15 min10′ at 60–65% vVO₂max + 5′ at 66–72% vVO₂max
10 minutes of easy running at 60–65% of vVO₂max, then 5 minutes at 66–72%. Finish the warm-up close to tempo pace, without a sudden change: the main block should start smoothly.
Main set
20 min20′ at 87–91% vVO₂max
20 continuous minutes at 87–91% of your vVO₂max, without a break. At 16 km/h that's 4:19 to 4:07/km, or 4.6 to 4.9 km in 20 minutes. Start at the bottom of the range and hold the same pace to the end. In wind or on hills, set the pace by feel rather than by your watch: the effort matters more than the number. You should finish feeling you could have kept going for a few more minutes.
Cool-down
10 min10′ at 55–65% vVO₂max
10 minutes of very easy running at 55–65% of vVO₂max. If you had to slow down in the last five minutes, you went off too fast, or your reference vVO₂max is set too high.
How it should feel
You can only manage short sentences; breathing is deep and steady. Around minute 15, a small voice suggests that 15 is plenty. You finish tired but not empty, feeling you had a few minutes left in you. Guide: 6 to 7 out of 10.
Common mistakes
Racing the tempo
A tempo run isn't a 20-minute time trial. If you finish wrecked, you ran too fast: the session should leave you fresh enough for the days that follow.
Following your watch into a headwind
Into the wind or uphill, holding your watch pace pushes you above threshold. In those conditions, run by feel: it's the effort you're training, not the number on the screen.
Taking any threshold pace as gospel
Sources don't put threshold in the same place: 87–91% of vVO₂max here, 80 to 90% for some French coaches. If 87% feels impossible over 20 minutes, your vVO₂max may be set too high, or your threshold slightly lower.
When to skip it
Before you start
- At least 2 to 3 runs a week for a few months.
- A recently measured vVO₂max.
Skip it if
- You have pain or a recent injury.
- A long run, another hard session or a race is planned for the next day.
Origin and evidence
Level of evidence
Established practice, no dedicated studyLevel 1 of 5
Jack Daniels (Daniels' Running Formula, Human Kinetics, several editions, consulted through extracts) makes a tempo run of about 20 minutes one of the two forms of threshold training, alongside cruise intervals. He describes T pace as the pace you could hold for about an hour in a race; in his tables (VDOT 50), it works out at about 91–92% of I pace, treated here as vVO₂max. French sources put threshold lower, between 80 and 90% of vVO₂max (Le Cornec-Boutineau, a qualified French athletics coach). Pfitzinger and Douglas (Advanced Marathoning) describe 'lactate threshold runs' of similar length, according to secondary sources. No study dedicated to this format has been found. The 87–91% range, the warm-up and the cool-down are Wattson choices. Bottom line: the practice of respected coaches, moderate confidence.
Sources
- Daniels J., Daniels' Running Formula, Human Kinetics
- Pfitzinger P., Douglas S., Advanced Marathoning, Human Kinetics
Frequently asked questions
What pace should a tempo run be?
Threshold pace, 87–91% of your vVO₂max: 4:56 to 4:43/km at 14 km/h, 4:19 to 4:07/km at 16, 3:50 to 3:40/km at 18. It's the pace you could hold for about an hour in a race, 'comfortably hard': you can manage short sentences, not a chat.
What's the difference between a tempo run and an easy run?
Intensity. An easy run is at a conversational pace. A tempo run is at threshold, clearly faster, with deep breathing and short sentences. The first builds your endurance; the second raises the pace you can hold for a long time.
Tempo run or cruise intervals?
A tempo run asks you to hold threshold pace for 20 minutes without a break, closer to racing. Cruise intervals split the same effort into 5-minute blocks and let you build up 30 minutes of it. Start with the second if 20 continuous minutes is still too long, then alternate the two.
How long should a tempo run be?
About 20 minutes at threshold pace, according to Jack Daniels, not counting the warm-up and cool-down. If you're training for a marathon, you can extend it in steps up to 30 to 40 minutes. Beyond that, the pace naturally drops towards half-marathon or marathon pace.
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