VO₂max sessions for runners
Your vVO₂max is the speed at which you reach your maximal oxygen uptake, a pace you can hold for roughly 4 to 7 minutes. VO₂max sessions break it up, into efforts of 15 seconds to 4 minutes, so you spend more time near that maximum than you could running in one go. The 9 formats on this page fall into four families: short intervals, such as 30/30s or 15/15s; long reps, such as 5 × 3 minutes or the Norwegian 4 × 4; sessions of mixed durations, such as the pyramid or the Mona fartlek; and long hill reps.
Every pace is a % of your vVO₂max: without a recent measurement, start with a fitness test. Each page gives the exact structure, the paces and distances for a vVO₂max of 14, 16 or 18 km/h, how to run it, and what comes from the studies and what is a Wattson choice.
5Z5 · VO₂max
How to choose
Your first interval session
30/30s, the classic way in, or the Norwegian 4 × 4, just below your vVO₂max, which you can also run by heart rate. Both suit newer runners.
You want to progress step by step
from 30/30s to 1-minute reps, then 5 × 3 minutes: at each step, you hold your vVO₂max for longer.
You prefer very short reps
15/15s, where the brisk recovery makes the session.
The track bores you
the 1-2-3-2-1 pyramid, the Mona fartlek, 20 minutes without ever stopping, or a fartlek within an easy run.
You're training for trail, or want less impact
long hill reps, 6 × 2 minutes, big aerobic work at a lower speed than on the flat.
The sessions
MAS pyramid 1-2-3-2-1
Five efforts at vVO₂max of 1, 2, 3, 2 then 1 minute, with jogs between: a session that climbs then comes back down, easier on the head than a set of identical reps.
Mona fartlek (20 min)
Twenty minutes without stopping: 14 efforts from 90 down to 15 seconds, each followed by a float recovery of the same length. Marathoner Steve Moneghetti's signature session.
Long hill repeats 6 × 2 min
Six 2-minute climbs at close to vVO₂max effort, jogging back down: big aerobic work and strength in your stride, with less pounding than on the flat.
30/30 intervals at MAS (2 × 10)
Two sets of 10 × 30 s at vVO2max with jogged recoveries: 10 minutes at that speed, the classic way into short intervals.
15/15 intervals at MAS (3 × 12)
Three sets of 12 × 15 s at vVO2max with steady 70% recoveries: here, the recovery makes the session. 9 minutes at vVO2max in very short efforts.
1'/1' intervals at MAS (2 × 6)
Two sets of 6 × 1 min at vVO2max with a minute's jog between: 12 minutes at that speed, the step between 30/30s and 3-minute reps.
Norwegian 4 × 4 (Helgerud)
Four 4-minute reps just below your vVO₂max with 3 minutes' jog between: one of the most studied VO₂max formats, and suitable even for newer runners.
Long MAS intervals 5 × 3 min
Five 3-minute reps at your vVO₂max with the same again in jogging between: the classic long-interval session, the step up from 30/30s and 1-minute reps.
Fartlek: sample structure
An easy run with six surges from 30 seconds to 4 minutes, from threshold to faster than vVO₂max: Swedish 'speed play', as a template to follow or bend.
Frequently asked questions
What pace should VO₂max sessions be run at?
Around 100% of your vVO₂max for most formats, just below it for long reps such as the Norwegian 4 × 4, at 93–97%. On hills, judge the effort by feel, since speed drops with the gradient. Without a recently measured vVO₂max, do a test first: every pace depends on it.
How many VO₂max sessions a week?
One in general, two at most, after an easy day or a rest day, and never the day before a long run, another hard session or a race. Most of your week stays easy running. These are common training guidelines, not rules drawn from studies.
Short or long intervals: where should I start?
With short ones, usually: 30 seconds gives you time to feel the pace without going into the red. Then lengthen the efforts, with 1-minute reps and then 3-minute reps. The Norwegian 4 × 4 is the exception: long but just below vVO₂max, it also suits less experienced runners.
Jog or walk the recoveries in a VO₂max session?
Jog, almost always. It keeps your breathing high from one rep to the next and is what makes intervals work. Depending on the format, it ranges from a slow jog to properly brisk running, as in 15/15s. Only the breaks between sets are walked.
Other types of running sessions
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