What does 7.1 mean on the beep test?

The first number is the level and the second is the shuttle within that level. 7.1 is the first shuttle of level 7, so you have completed all 51 laps of levels 1 to 6 and one more lap.

Is level 7.1 the same as level 7?

No. Level 7 has 10 laps. Level 7.1 is the first of them. If a standard asks for 7.1, one lap into level 7 is enough, you do not need to finish the level.

11.5 km/h, which is a 5:13 pace per kilometre. A 20 m lap takes 6.3 seconds.

Is 7.1 a good beep test score?

It depends on who is asking. A score is good or bad only against a table, and no table is given here. If a police force, an army or a school asks for 7.1, read their own document for the conditions.

How to reach beep test level 7.1

What 7.1 means

A beep test score is written as level.shuttle. Level 7 has 10 shuttles, and 7.1 is the first of them. In lap terms, 7.1 is the 52nd lap of the test: 51 laps in levels 1 to 6, then one more.

	Value
Laps to score 7.1	52
Distance	1,040 m
Elapsed time at the 52nd beep	about 6 min 26 s
Speed of level 7	11.5 km/h
Time per 20 m lap in level 7	6.3 s
Speed of level 6	11.0 km/h

You do not need to finish level 7. Reach the line on the first beep of the level and you have 7.1.

The levels in front of it

Speeds and laps for the first seven levels of the 8.0 km/h version, with the time elapsed at the end of each level.

Level	Speed	Laps	Laps so far	Time so far
1	8.0 km/h	7	7	1:03
2	9.0 km/h	8	15	2:07
3	9.5 km/h	8	23	3:08
4	10.0 km/h	9	32	4:12
5	10.5 km/h	9	41	5:14
6	11.0 km/h	10	51	6:20
7	11.5 km/h	10	61	7:22

Reaching 7.1 means a clean level 6, which is 51 laps in a little over six minutes, then a lap at 11.5 km/h. The full chart is in beep test levels: speed, shuttles, distance and time.

What it asks of you

The speed of the last completed level is read as your maximal aerobic speed. Completing level 6 puts you at 11.0 km/h, and making the first lap of level 7 goes slightly above it. So you need to run roughly 11 km/h for six minutes with a turn every 6 to 7 seconds.

The turns are most of the difficulty. A runner who can hold 11 km/h on a track can still miss 7.1 if their turns are slow, because each turn costs speed and the line comes earlier.

How to prepare

Learn the pace on the line. Run levels 1 to 4 deliberately slowly, one foot over the line on the beep, never ahead of it. Early energy saved is what you spend in levels 6 and 7.
Practice the turn. Plant the outside foot over the line, push off, and keep the shoulders level. A short drill: ten laps at 11 km/h, rest, repeat three times.
Run short intervals at the target speed. Sets of 15 s at 11.5 km/h (48 m) with 15 s rest build tolerance for the pace you need on the last laps.
Run a continuous easy session once or twice a week to raise your base. How hard and how long is your call, and we make no promise on gains.
Retest on the same surface, with the same audio, and compare the lap count. The pace calculator turns a level into a training pace.

More detail on improvement in how do I improve my beep test score.

On the day

Warm up for 10 to 15 minutes with two or three accelerations. Do not run ahead of the beep in levels 1 to 5. If you miss a line by more than the allowed margin twice in a row, the test stops and your last completed level is your score.

If the 7.1 comes from a standard, check the document: some bodies score the last completed level, others the last shuttle reached. The only safe version is the one in their text.