What are the beep test levels: speed, shuttles, distance and time?

The table

Every level is a run of 20 m shuttles, one shuttle per beep. The speed is fixed within a level and rises at the next one. Times are computed from the speed and the shuttle count, so they are rounded to the second.

Level	Speed (km/h)	Shuttles	Seconds per shuttle	Total shuttles	Total distance	Elapsed time
1	8.0	7	9.00	7	140 m	1:03
2	9.0	8	8.00	15	300 m	2:07
3	9.5	8	7.58	23	460 m	3:08
4	10.0	9	7.20	32	640 m	4:12
5	10.5	9	6.86	41	820 m	5:14
6	11.0	10	6.55	51	1 020 m	6:20
7	11.5	10	6.26	61	1 220 m	7:22
8	12.0	11	6.00	72	1 440 m	8:28
9	12.5	11	5.76	83	1 660 m	9:32
10	13.0	11	5.54	94	1 880 m	10:33
11	13.5	12	5.33	106	2 120 m	11:37
12	14.0	12	5.14	118	2 360 m	12:38
13	14.5	13	4.97	131	2 620 m	13:43
14	15.0	13	4.80	144	2 880 m	14:45
15	15.5	13	4.65	157	3 140 m	15:46
16	16.0	14	4.50	171	3 420 m	16:49
17	16.5	14	4.36	185	3 700 m	17:50
18	17.0	15	4.24	200	4 000 m	18:53
19	17.5	15	4.11	215	4 300 m	19:55
20	18.0	16	4.00	231	4 620 m	20:59
21	18.5	16	3.89	247	4 940 m	22:01

The total columns count a level as finished. A runner who stops partway through level 8 has the totals of level 7 plus the shuttles run in level 8.

How to read it

Take level 8. The speed is 12.0 km/h, which is 6.00 seconds per 20 m shuttle. There are 11 shuttles, so the level is 220 m and 66 seconds. Finishing it puts the total at 72 shuttles, 1 440 m, and 8 minutes 28 seconds on the clock.

The level number is the label most scoring charts use. The shuttle count is what the scorer actually writes down. The table converts one into the other: 72 shuttles is the end of level 8, 94 is the end of level 10.

The speed rule

After level 2, speed is 8 plus half the level number, in km/h. Level 10 is 8 + 5 = 13 km/h. Level 16 is 16 km/h. Only the first two levels break the pattern, because level 1 starts at 8.0 and level 2 jumps to 9.0.

The shuttle count rises more slowly than the speed. It stays flat for two or three levels at a time: 11 shuttles at levels 8 to 10, 13 at levels 13 to 15. The level length drifts between 60 and 66 seconds because of this.

Level and MAS

The speed of the last level you finish is your maximal aerobic speed (MAS), by the usual convention. Finishing level 10 means 13 km/h. Each level has its own page with the shuttles and times for that single level, for example level 10 and level 7.

When the table does not apply

Two recordings are not the same test. A recording that starts at a different speed shifts every level, and a 15 m version has shorter shuttles and different totals. The speeds in this table come with 20 m shuttles. If your first beep interval is not 9 seconds, you are not on this chart.

The PACER uses the same speeds and shuttle counts, so the table works for it too, with a lap standing for one shuttle. For the lap-by-lap scoring, see how the PACER test is scored.