How do you compare to the pros?

Wait, how is this calculated?

You give it one honest race result. It converts that into a VDOT fitness score using the Daniels and Gilbert (1979) model, then predicts your equivalent time at 5K, 10K, the half, and the marathon. Each one races the current world record. The runner that reaches the finish line first is, unsurprisingly, the pro, and the bar shows how far you'd have run by then. The percentage is simply your speed as a share of world-record speed.

It is meant to be fun, not a verdict on your worth. The pros are aliens. Most strong recreational runners land somewhere around 55 to 70 percent of world-record pace, which is genuinely fast for a human who also has a job and a sleep schedule. If you want the same engine to turn your race into real training paces, try the VDOT calculator, or pick a goal time from the pace charts.

The records used are the current world records as of 2026: Sabastian Sawe and Ruth Chepngetich at the marathon, Jacob Kiplimo and Letesenbet Gidey at the half, and Joshua Cheptegei and Beatrice Chebet on the track. Athlete photos are from Wikimedia Commons. This is here for a fun comparison, not as official data.