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From Fellrnr.com, Running tips
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V̇O<sub>2</sub>max is the maximum (max) volume (V) of oxygen (O<sub>2</sub>) you can use during exercise. Measuring V̇O<sub>2</sub>max requires specialist equipment, but there are many locations with the facilities and the cost is usually under $100. The procedure involves running on a treadmill while wearing a mask to capture your breath. There is a warm up period, and then you run at a reasonably stressful pace while the treadmill gradient is steadily increased until you can't keep going. For most of the test, as the workload increases so does the O<sub>2</sub> you use. However, there will come a point where the increased workload does not have a corresponding increase in O<sub>2</sub> usage. This is the point where you are using as much O<sub>2</sub> as you are capable of and the increased workload is coming from anaerobic systems. While V̇O<sub>2</sub>max is interesting, it does not include details of [[Running Economy]], so it does not give a complete picture of a runner's capabilities. Arguably, [[VDOT]] is a more useful measure of fitness.
=Estimating VO2max=
V̇O<sub>2</sub>max can be estimated from a race performance, and this is implemented in the [[VDOT Calculator]]. Another approach is the Cooper test developed in 1968 found that the distance that could be covered in 12 minutes was strongly correlated with VO2max<ref name="Cooper1968"/>. However, the Cooper test requires a lot of [[Motivation|motivation ]] and a good sense of pacing, as 12 minutes is a relatively long period for this type of test<ref name="Billat-1996"/>. A similar technique is to increase running speed every two minutes until exhaustion, then VO2max can be estimated from the maximum speed that was achieved using Léger & Mercier formula:<ref name="Léger-1984"/>:
V̇O<sub>2</sub>max = speed * 3.5
Where V̇O<sub>2</sub>max is in ml/Kg/min and vV̇O<sub>2</sub>max is in km/hr.
