Calories burned per mile: running and walking

How many calories does running a mile burn?

About 114 kcal for a 70 kg (155 lb) runner at 6 mph, which is a 10-minute mile, and roughly 100 of those are above resting energy. The rule of thumb that a mile costs about 100 calories is therefore close for someone of that weight, and it scales with body weight: about 96 kcal at 130 lb and about 137 kcal at 185 lb.

Those figures use the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, which gives running a MET value for each speed band — 9.3 MET for 6 to 6.3 mph, for example. The calculator turns your distance into minutes at the chosen pace and applies the standard MET equation to them.

Why running pace barely changes calories per mile

Running faster burns energy faster, but it also finishes the mile sooner. Across the Compendium running values from 5 to 10 mph the two effects nearly cancel: for a 70 kg runner the cost of one mile stays between about 106 and 125 kcal whether it takes 12 minutes or 6. Per minute the difference is large; per mile it is small.

Walking behaves differently at the extremes. A very slow stroll takes so long that it costs about as much per mile as a moderate walk, and very fast walking (4.5 mph and above) is mechanically awkward, so its cost per mile climbs towards that of running. In the everyday range of 2.5 to 4 mph, a walked mile costs about 88 to 96 kcal in total for a 70 kg walker, roughly 20% less than running it.

Calories for common distances

The table applies the same equation to common walking and running distances for a 70 kg person, running at 6 mph and walking at a moderate 3.1 mph. Running three miles comes to about 342 kcal on those assumptions; walking two miles to about 180 kcal. The marathon row is arithmetic, not a fuelling guide: real race-day energy use depends on terrain, weather and how pace changes over several hours.

Hills, treadmill incline and hiking

Climbing raises the cost of every mile, and the Compendium lists uphill walking separately: 5.3 MET on a 1–5% grade at a moderate-to-brisk pace, 7.0 MET on 6–10%, and 8.8 MET on 11–20% at a slow-to-moderate pace. Those entries describe an effort rather than a speed, so the table beneath gives them per 30 minutes for a 70 kg walker instead of per mile. Hiking through fields and hillsides without a load sits at 5.3 MET at a normal pace, and cross-country hiking at 6.0 MET.

On a treadmill, the same grades apply to the incline setting: 10% is a steep walk, not a gentle one. The treadmill steps page explains what an incline percentage means and converts a session into steps.