Heart Rate Zones for Runners

An athlete's heart rate serves as an effective tool to gauge fitness level and check for medical conditions, says the American Heart Association. The heart rate, or pulse, of a runner measures how many times the heart beats per minute. Though the recommended heart rate zones for runners will vary with age, fitness and gender, you can estimate your target zones using established formulas.

  1. Heart Rate Overview

    • Your body's demand for oxygen and nutrients dictates how quickly your heart pumps blood through your body. During a 4-mile marathon, the body's demand for oxygen rises, so the heart rate rises, too. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that your heart rate during intense exercise like running stay between 70 and 85 percent of your maximum heart rate -- the fastest rate your heart can pump and still function properly. Nonathletes can calculate their maximum heart rate by subtracting their age from 220. However, this formula doesn't accurately predict a runner's maximum heart rate because it only accounts for age, though gender and fitness level also influence target zones.

    Gender and Fitness Effects

    • In a 2008 study published in the "International Journal of Sports Medicine," Dr. G.P. Whyte and colleagues found that runners do not have the same heart rate zones as nonrunners, and women do not have the same heart rate zones as men. Runners and other athletes develop strong hearts able to pump more blood per beat, so their hearts don't have to pump as quickly to oxygenate the body. Runners have lower resting heart rates, lower maximum heart rates and lower target heart rate zones than nonrunners. Additionally, women generally have smaller hearts incapable of pumping as much blood as male hearts, so female runners have slightly lower heart rate zones than male runners.

    Zones for Male Runners

    • According to Dr. Whyte's study, a male runner can calculate his maximum heart rate by multiplying his age by .55 and subtracting that figure from 202. Using this formula, a 30-year-old male athlete should have a maximum heart rate of about 185 beats per minute. Since the target zone while running is between 70 and 85 percent of the maximum, a 30-year-old runner's target zone would be between 130 and 157 beats a minute.

    Zones for Female Runners

    • Conflicting data exists for female runner target zones. According to Dr. Whyte's study, female runners should subtract their age times 1.09 from 216 to find their maximum heart rate. A 30-year-old female runner's maximum heart rate would be about 183 beats a minute, which is just slightly lower than the 30-year-old male runner. Using the CDC's recommended intensity, her target zones would be between 128 and 155.

      However, in a more comprehensive study published in "Circulation" in 2010, Dr. M. Gulati and associates tested over 5,000 women in response to exercise, and the results led to the formula of multiplying age by .88 and subtracting the figure from 206. This new, more thorough investigation indicates maximum and target heart rates may be even lower for women than previously thought. Using this formula, the target zone for female runners may be as low as 125 and 153 beats per minute.