4×10m Shuttle Run
Page updated: Evidence reviewed: What this means
The 4x10m Shuttle Run is the motor-fitness test in the extended ALPHA Fitness battery. Participants complete four 10-metre lengths while exchanging three sponges between the end lines; a line-touch version is a different protocol. These values come from Kolimechkov et al. 2019, which combined European child and adolescent reference tables, filled missing percentile columns, interpolated ages 10-12, and extrapolated ages 5 and 18. The procedure below follows the ALPHA test manual. Lower times are faster.
How to Perform This Test (Protocol)
- Equipment
-
- Flat, non-slip surface
- Two lines marked 10 m apart
- Stopwatch
- Three differently coloured sponges
- Four cones to mark the course
- Protocol Steps
-
- Mark two parallel lines on the floor 10 m apart.
- Place sponge B at the starting line and sponges A and C at the opposite line. The participant starts behind the line without a sponge.
- On the signal, run to the opposite line, cross it with both feet, pick up sponge A, and return to the starting line.
- Cross the starting line with both feet, exchange sponge A for sponge B, then run back to the opposite line.
- Cross with both feet, exchange sponge B for sponge C, and run through the finish at the starting line without slowing.
- Perform two trials and retain the faster correctly completed time.
- Scoring
Start timing on the signal and stop when one foot crosses the finish line. Record the faster of two trials to 0.1 seconds. Lower times are faster.
- Notes
The ALPHA protocol uses sponge exchanges and requires both feet to cross each turn line. It is not interchangeable with line-touch 4x10m tests or the Eurofit 10x5m shuttle run.
Data source: Kolimechkov et al. 2019 (ALPHA-FIT) About this study
Reference population: Constructed European reference tables for ages 5-18, combining IDEFICS child norms (ages 6-9; total study n=18,745 from 8 countries) and HELENA adolescent norms (ages 13-17; total study n=3,528 from 9 countries). No single 4x10m test-specific sample size is reported.
4×10m Shuttle Run Norms Chart by Age and Sex (s)
| Age | Sex | Percentile | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5th | 25th | 50th | 75th | 95th | ||
| 5 | Male | 12.0 | 14.5 | 15.8 | 16.9 | 19.4 |
| Female | 13.0 | 15.6 | 16.8 | 18.2 | 20.7 | |
| 6 | Male | 11.7 | 13.8 | 14.9 | 16.0 | 18.5 |
| Female | 12.6 | 14.8 | 15.9 | 17.1 | 19.6 | |
| 7 | Male | 11.4 | 13.1 | 14.0 | 15.1 | 17.6 |
| Female | 12.2 | 14.0 | 15.0 | 16.0 | 18.5 | |
| 8 | Male | 11.1 | 12.5 | 13.3 | 14.3 | 16.6 |
| Female | 11.7 | 13.1 | 14.0 | 15.0 | 17.4 | |
| 9 | Male | 11.0 | 12.2 | 13.0 | 13.8 | 15.9 |
| Female | 11.4 | 12.8 | 13.6 | 14.5 | 16.7 | |
| 10 | Male | 10.7 | 11.9 | 12.5 | 13.3 | 15.1 |
| Female | 11.3 | 12.6 | 13.3 | 14.1 | 16.1 | |
| 11 | Male | 10.3 | 11.8 | 12.5 | 13.4 | 15.1 |
| Female | 10.9 | 12.5 | 13.3 | 14.2 | 16.0 | |
| 12 | Male | 10.0 | 11.6 | 12.3 | 13.1 | 14.5 |
| Female | 10.6 | 12.3 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 15.6 | |
| 13 | Male | 9.8 | 11.4 | 12.0 | 12.8 | 14.0 |
| Female | 10.4 | 12.1 | 12.8 | 13.7 | 15.1 | |
| 14 | Male | 9.6 | 11.1 | 11.7 | 12.4 | 13.6 |
| Female | 10.3 | 12.0 | 12.7 | 13.6 | 15.0 | |
| 15 | Male | 9.2 | 10.7 | 11.2 | 12.0 | 13.1 |
| Female | 10.1 | 12.0 | 12.7 | 13.5 | 14.9 | |
| 16 | Male | 9.0 | 10.4 | 10.9 | 11.6 | 12.7 |
| Female | 10.0 | 11.9 | 12.6 | 13.4 | 14.6 | |
| 17 | Male | 9.1 | 10.3 | 10.9 | 11.6 | 12.8 |
| Female | 10.1 | 12.0 | 12.6 | 13.4 | 14.4 | |
| 18 | Male | 9.1 | 10.3 | 10.9 | 11.6 | 13.0 |
| Female | 10.2 | 12.0 | 12.6 | 13.3 | 14.1 | |
What to expect by age group
| Age | Males | Females |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 14.5 to 16.9 | 15.6 to 18.2 |
| 6 | 13.8 to 16.0 | 14.8 to 17.1 |
| 7 | 13.1 to 15.1 | 14.0 to 16.0 |
| 8 | 12.5 to 14.3 | 13.1 to 15.0 |
| 9 | 12.2 to 13.8 | 12.8 to 14.5 |
| 10 | 11.9 to 13.3 | 12.6 to 14.1 |
| 11 | 11.8 to 13.4 | 12.5 to 14.2 |
| 12 | 11.6 to 13.1 | 12.3 to 13.9 |
| 13 | 11.4 to 12.8 | 12.1 to 13.7 |
| 14 | 11.1 to 12.4 | 12.0 to 13.6 |
| 15 | 10.7 to 12.0 | 12.0 to 13.5 |
| 16 | 10.4 to 11.6 | 11.9 to 13.4 |
| 17 | 10.3 to 11.6 | 12.0 to 13.4 |
| 18 | 10.3 to 11.6 | 12.0 to 13.3 |
Detailed Breakdowns
Select an age group and sex below for detailed percentile charts, tables, and ratings.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is this different from the 10x5m shuttle run used by Eurofit?
They are different protocols. ALPHA uses four 10-metre lengths, three sponge exchanges, and three direction changes. Eurofit uses ten 5-metre lengths and nine direction changes without the ALPHA sponge sequence. Compare each result only with norms from the matching test.
Are the P25 and P75 values approximated?
The combined paper prints P25 and P75 columns, but some underlying centiles and ages were themselves interpolated. Because lower time is faster, this site's ascending numeric P25 comes from the paper's performance P75, and site P75 comes from source P25. For the tails, site P5 uses the faster source P97 as a proxy, while site P95 uses the slower source P3. Exact P5 and P95 times were not reported.
Are all ages based on directly measured data?
No. The paper combines IDEFICS child norms and HELENA adolescent norms, interpolates ages 10-12, and extrapolates ages 5 and 18. It also interpolates percentile columns that were absent from one underlying source. These values are a constructed bridge between two studies, not observations from one continuous age-5-to-18 cohort.