[nateberkopec]

You don’t need a watch. You can estimate VO2 max yourself by doing a max effort 1.5 mile run and applying a regression equation: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4795745/

That’s all the watches are doing anyway. Even if you do buy a watch, keep in mind you need to run regular max effort runs to get an accurate value.

[kccqzy]

So if you buy a watch but run slower than max effort, wouldn't it the watch record an inaccurate value? The watch probably only determines effort through heart rate but that has significant individual differences.

[xwowsersx]

Very helpful, thank you