How far should I run in the half Cooper test?

There is no pass distance: the test records what you cover in 6 minutes. 1,000 m is 10 km/h, 1,200 m is 12 km/h and 1,400 m is 14 km/h. A school or exam scale, if one applies, comes from an official text, and none is given here.

How do I calculate MAS from the half Cooper?

Divide the distance in metres by 100. 1,300 m gives 13 km/h. Over 6 minutes that average speed overestimates MAS by about 0.5 to 0.8 km/h in the Daniels and Gilbert model, so take about 0.5 km/h off for a cautious reading.

Can I compare a half Cooper with a Cooper test?

Not directly. Doubling the 6-minute distance does not give the 12-minute distance, because people run faster over 6 minutes than over 12. To follow a player, repeat the same test.

Can I use Cooper's VO₂max equation with the half Cooper?

No. Cooper's equation, (distance − 504.9) ÷ 44.73, was fitted on a 12-minute run. Applying it to a 6-minute distance gives a number that has no basis.

Half Cooper test: 6-minute run, distance, speed and MAS

What the test measures

The half Cooper measures the distance you cover in 6 minutes of running. It is the Cooper test cut in half, which makes it practical in a one-hour session with a group. There is no audio: you choose your own pace on a track or a flat course of known length.

The distance is the result. The average speed follows from it, and the MAS estimate follows from that, with a margin you need to allow for.

How to run it

You need a 400 m track, or a flat loop of known length, with cones every 25 or 50 m.

Warm up for 10 minutes with two or three short accelerations.
Start on the signal and run for 6 minutes. Runners work in pairs: one runs, the other counts laps.
Call the minutes left, without calling a speed.
Stop at the whistle and stay where you are. Read the last cone passed and work out the distance in metres.
Walk for a few minutes to cool down.

From distance to speed and MAS

Six minutes is a tenth of an hour. The average speed in km/h is therefore the distance in metres divided by 100.

Distance in 6 min	Average speed	MAS from the Daniels and Gilbert model
1,000 m	10 km/h	9.5 km/h
1,200 m	12 km/h	11.4 km/h
1,400 m	14 km/h	13.3 km/h
1,600 m	16 km/h	15.2 km/h

The third column comes from the same model as the Cooper test. The gap of 0.5 to 0.8 km/h exists because over 6 minutes you run above MAS, so the average speed overestimates it a little. Cadlo keeps the average speed as the reference value because it is simple and repeatable. For a cautious reading, take about 0.5 km/h off.

Half Cooper or Cooper

The Cooper lasts 12 minutes. The longer the effort, the closer the average pace gets to MAS, so the 12-minute result is the more faithful of the two. It is also longer and harder to organise. The half Cooper saves six minutes of running per person.

The two results do not compare: the average speed is not the same over 6 and 12 minutes. Pick one and keep it.

Pacing 6 minutes

Start hard but sustainable. The usual error is a sprint start: the first two minutes are too fast and the last ones turn into walking.
Know your lap target. For 1,200 m, a 400 m lap takes 2 minutes.
Use the inside lane, where the cones were measured.
Run until the whistle. The last 20 seconds count.

With a class or a squad

Set the same cones for every test, 25 or 50 m apart.
Run groups of 8 to 10, with one observer per runner.
Retest in the same conditions, at the same time of day, on the same track.
Compare each person with their own previous result. No national scale is given here: a scale for a school or an exam is an official text and has to be cited.

What distorts the result

Cones placed by pacing steps.
A distance read by eye rather than from the last cone passed.
A wet track, or a strong wind on half of each lap.
A warm-up that is too short: 6 minutes leaves no time to get going.

To turn the test speed into session paces, the MAS pace calculator gives speeds from 60 to 105 % of MAS. The Cooper calculator converts a distance into speed.