Fingertip and venous blood lactate concentrations were determined pre-exercise and after 4-min bouts of treadmill running at 2.69, 3.13, 3.58 and 4.03 m s-1 in 14 normal healthy volunteers. A 1-min rest period intervened each exercise period, and was used for the simultaneous sampling of fingertip and venous blood. Compared to pre-exercise, fingertip and venous blood lactate (BLa) concentrations increased significantly (P < 0.05) in a progressive pattern with increasing exercise intensity. Fingertip BLa concentrations were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than venous blood prior to exercise and in response to all four running speeds. Treadmill speed, heart rate and oxygen consumption were significantly lower (P < 0.05) at a BLa concentration of 4 mM when estimated from fingertip blood as compared with venous blood. These results indicate that differences between fingertip and venous blood exist during treadmill exercise and should be considered when lactate determination is employed as a criterion to evaluate and predict performance and when used as a training guide to standardize exercise intensity.