Level 9 on the beep test is 7.77 mph and about 47.6 ml/kg/min for an adult. Convert any shuttle run level, or FitnessGram PACER laps for ages 10-16, into an estimated VO2max.
Beep test level 10: what VO2max and what running speed?
Level 9 on the beep test is 7.77 mph and about 47.6 ml/kg/min for an adult. Convert any shuttle run level, or FitnessGram PACER laps for ages 10-16, into an estimated VO2max.
The calculator below is set to level 10 of the 20 m shuttle run for an adult aged 25. From age 18 the Leger equation holds age at 18, so the VO2max fits any adult. Choose a sex and answer the half-level question to add the Stickland estimate for men or women. A child or teenager should type their own age, because under 18 the same level gives a different number.
Parameters
Enter data for calculations
💡 Fill in all required fields to unlock the calculate button
The 20 m shuttle run, level by level
Level 9 of the beep test is run at 12.5 km/h, or 7.77 mph, and for an adult the Leger equation turns it into an estimated VO2max of 47.6 ml/kg/min. This beep test calculator does that conversion for any level from 1 to 21 and any age from 8 to 90, adds the newer Stickland estimate for adult men and women, and shows the speed and pace of the level you stopped at. A second mode reads a FitnessGram PACER score, which American schools record as laps rather than levels, and converts it for students aged 10 to 16.
Scoring your run in four moves
- How the test was scored - choose level if your sheet says something like "level 9, shuttle 5" (beep test, bleep test, multistage fitness test, Leger test), or PACER laps if it shows a single count such as 45 (FitnessGram in US schools).
- Level or laps - type the last level you reached as a whole number, then say whether you ran at least half of its shuttles. In PACER mode, type the laps completed, from 1 to 247.
- Age and sex - whole years. In level mode sex is optional and only adds the Stickland estimate for adults; in PACER mode it is required, because the equation adds a fixed amount for boys.
- Height and weight (PACER mode only) - feet, inches and pounds, or centimeters and kilograms. The calculator turns them into BMI, which the PACER equation needs.
- Read the result - VO2max in ml/kg/min, the speed in mph and km/h, the pace per mile, and a short table of the levels around yours.
Three equations behind one gym-floor test
Luc Leger and his colleagues in Montreal published the protocol and its equation in the Journal of Sports Sciences. You run back and forth between two lines 20 m apart and have to reach each line before the recording beeps. Level 1 is 8.5 km/h, every later level lasts about a minute and is 0.5 km/h faster, so the speed of any level is 8 + 0.5 × level. The test ends when you miss the beep twice or give up.
The equation was built on 188 children and teenagers aged 8 to 19: VO2max = 31.025 + 3.238 × X − 3.248 × A + 0.1536 × A × X, where X is the speed in km/h and A the age in years. For adults the authors found that the same formula works if age is held at 18 (r = 0.90 in 77 men and women aged 18 to 50). Held at 18 the formula becomes about −27.4 + 6.0 × X, the form Leger and Gadoury later reported for adults.
Stickland, Petersen and Bouffard later tested 122 young adults in Alberta (average age about 25) and found that the Leger equation underestimated their measured VO2max. Their replacement uses the last half-level completed: men 2.75 × level + 28.8, women 2.85 × level + 25.1. That is why the calculator asks about the half level, and why adults who choose a sex see two numbers side by side.
The PACER mode uses an equation from Matthew Mahar's group at East Carolina University, fitted on 244 students aged 10 to 16 whose VO2max was measured on a treadmill: 40.345 + 0.214 × laps − 0.795 × BMI + 4.273 × boy + 0.794 × age, where boy is 1 for boys and 0 for girls. The same paper offers a quadratic model, but it peaks at about 85 laps and then predicts lower fitness for longer runs, so the calculator uses the linear version, which is almost as accurate (R 0.74 against 0.75).
Levels 1 to 15 for adults: speed, pace and VO2max
Every row was produced by the calculator for a 30-year-old. Pace is the time per mile at the speed of that level. Stickland values assume the whole level was run, without the extra half.
| Level | mph | km/h | Pace per mile | Leger | Stickland, men | Stickland, women |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5.28 | 8.5 | 11:22 | 23.6 | 31.6 | 28.0 |
| 3 | 5.90 | 9.5 | 10:10 | 29.6 | 37.1 | 33.7 |
| 5 | 6.52 | 10.5 | 9:12 | 35.6 | 42.6 | 39.4 |
| 6 | 6.84 | 11.0 | 8:47 | 38.6 | 45.3 | 42.2 |
| 7 | 7.15 | 11.5 | 8:24 | 41.6 | 48.1 | 45.1 |
| 8 | 7.46 | 12.0 | 8:03 | 44.6 | 50.8 | 47.9 |
| 9 | 7.77 | 12.5 | 7:43 | 47.6 | 53.6 | 50.8 |
| 10 | 8.08 | 13.0 | 7:26 | 50.6 | 56.3 | 53.6 |
| 11 | 8.39 | 13.5 | 7:09 | 53.6 | 59.1 | 56.5 |
| 12 | 8.70 | 14.0 | 6:54 | 56.6 | 61.8 | 59.3 |
| 13 | 9.01 | 14.5 | 6:40 | 59.6 | 64.6 | 62.2 |
| 15 | 9.63 | 15.5 | 6:14 | 65.6 | 70.1 | 67.9 |
In the middle of the scale the Stickland numbers sit about 6 points above Leger for men and about 3 for women. The gap shrinks at high levels, because Leger climbs 3.0 per level and the Stickland lines only 2.75 and 2.85.
The same level at ages 8 to 16
Below 18 age is part of the equation, and a younger child gets a higher estimate for the same level. The equation treats level 6 as a bigger achievement for an 8-year-old than for a 16-year-old.
| Age | Level 4 | Level 6 | Level 8 | Level 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 years | 49.7 | 54.2 | 58.6 | 63.1 |
| 10 years | 46.3 | 51.1 | 55.8 | 60.6 |
| 12 years | 42.9 | 47.9 | 53.0 | 58.1 |
| 14 years | 39.4 | 44.8 | 50.2 | 55.6 |
| 16 years | 36.0 | 41.7 | 47.4 | 53.1 |
PACER laps for students aged 10 to 16
The FitnessGram PACER is the same 20 m shuttle run, scored as the total number of laps instead of a level. The table runs the Mahar equation for four example students, each with a fixed BMI so that only the laps change. Every 10 extra laps add 2.14 ml/kg/min, and every BMI point takes 0.79 away.
| PACER laps | Boy, 10, BMI 18 | Boy, 13, BMI 20 | Girl, 13, BMI 20 | Girl, 16, BMI 21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 42.5 | 43.3 | 39.1 | 40.7 |
| 30 | 44.7 | 45.5 | 41.2 | 42.8 |
| 40 | 46.8 | 47.6 | 43.3 | 44.9 |
| 50 | 49.0 | 49.8 | 45.5 | 47.1 |
| 60 | 51.1 | 51.9 | 47.6 | 49.2 |
| 80 | 55.4 | 56.2 | 51.9 | 53.5 |
The FitnessGram software itself converts laps with its own method before placing a student in a fitness zone, so a school report can show a slightly different number. The calculator prints the published equation and says so under the result.
What the research adds
Reading your number
The calculator gives the estimate and stops there on purpose. Whether 47.6 ml/kg/min is good depends on age and sex, and a rating needs norms with a named source. Type the number into the VO2max calculator for that classification. Treat the Leger and Stickland numbers as the two ends of a range rather than two competing truths: for recreational runners in their twenties the Stickland study says Leger reads low, while for anyone older the Leger equation is the one that was actually checked. This is a fitness estimate, not a medical assessment.
Shuttle run questions
Related tools
Treadmill Calculator
Train for the next test indoors: treadmill speed and incline as an outdoor pace - See the calculator
Sweat Rate Calculator
Fluid lost per hour from a weigh-in before and after a session - See the calculator
VO2max Calculator
Rate a VO2max by age and sex, or estimate it from the Cooper or Rockport test - See the calculator
VDOT Calculator
Turn a recent race into Jack Daniels training paces - See the calculator
Tanda Marathon Predictor
Marathon time from eight weeks of weekly mileage and training pace - See the calculator
Half Marathon Splits Calculator
Mile and 5K splits for an even, negative or cautious half marathon - See the calculator
Training Heart Rate Calculator
Heart rate zones for endurance training - See the calculator
Interval Training Calculator
Work and rest intervals for a structured session - See the calculator
Child BMI Calculator
BMI percentile for children and teens, the same BMI the PACER mode uses - See the calculator
See also
Calculator verified by the LiczGrupa.pl team
Content, formulas and results have been reviewed for accuracy and relevance by our team of specialists.
Reviewed by: Patryk Matyjasik