How Many Calories Does Running Burn? - Marathon Handbook

Aside from the many well-known health benefits of running—such as improving cardiovascular fitness, boosting endurance, and reducing stress—one of the biggest draws to the sport is its efficiency at burning calories.

Few forms of exercise torch energy as effectively as running, making it a go-to choice for those looking to lose weight, maintain a healthy weight, or simply balance their nutrition with their activity.

But how many calories does running actually burn? The answer isn’t as straightforward as you might think. Several factors, such as your body weight, pace, distance, terrain, and even running efficiency, can all influence the final number.

That’s where our Calories Burned Running Calculator comes in. This easy-to-use tool gives you a reliable estimate based on key variables, whether you’re tracking your burn for weight loss, fat loss, or simply to refuel properly and maintain energy balance.

No matter your goal, understanding your calorie expenditure can help you train smarter, recover better, and get the most out of every run.

Jump to:

1. Calories Burned Running Calculator
2. Daily Calories Calculator
3. How Does The Running Calorie Calculator Work?
4. How Many Calories Does Running a Mile Burn?
5. 10 Factors That Affect Your Calorie Burn While Running
6. How to Calculate Calories Burned Running

Calories Burned Running Calculator

Plug in your data to our very own calories burned calculator to see what you’re adding up on those workouts.

Remember, although burning calories is one of the perks of running, you’ll reap plenty of rewards from any run, whether it is a heart-pounding hard workout or a leisurely jog with your favorite running mate.

Daily Calories Calculator

Gender: Male Female Age: Height: ft/in cm Weight: st/lbs kg Activity Level: – Please Select – Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) Sedentary (little to no exercise) Lightly Active (light exercise 1-3 days per week) Moderately Active (moderate exercise 3-5 days per week) Very Active (hard exercise 6-7 days per week) Extra Active (very hard exercise, training, or a physical job)

How Does The Running Calorie Calculator Work?

Our running calorie calculator is based on data collected and generously published for free by The Compendium of Physical Activities.

Each activity corresponds with a Metabolic Equivalent or MET value.

One MET is defined as the amount of energy burned while sitting at rest. This equates to 3.5 ml of oxygen consumed per kg of body weight per minute. This is sometimes referred to as basal metabolic rate (BMR).

This means that an activity with a MET of 2.0 burns two times as much energy per minute as sitting at rest.

Once we know the MET value of a certain activity, all that is needed to estimate the calories burned during that activity (i.e., the energy used) is the individual’s weight and the duration of the activity or the distance traveled.

Note: Calories are sometimes written as kcal.

How Many Calories Does Running a Mile Burn?

Running a mile typically burns somewhere in the neighborhood of 80-140 calories, depending primarily on your weight. However, other variables affect the amount of calories you burn while running.

With that said, the energy expenditure of the body during exercise is relatively consistent and predictable, based on the intensity and duration of the workout, so it’s possible to reasonably estimate the number of calories you burn running a mile, five miles, a marathon, or any distance in between or beyond.

10 Factors That Affect Your Calorie Burn While Running

The number of calories you burn running is a function of the work your body is doing, which is dependent on the following factors:

#1: Body Weight

Your body size, or how much you weigh, is one of the most significant factors that determine how many calories you burn while running. A heavier runner has to move more mass with each step, which has a greater energy cost.

Harvard Health Publishing reports that running for 30 minutes at 5mph (12 min/mile pace) burns:1Harvard Health Publishing. (2021, March 8). Calories burned in 30 minutes of leisure and routine activities. Harvard Health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/diet-and-weight-loss/calories-burned-in-30-minutes-for-people-of-three-different-weights

• 240 calories for a 125-pound person
• 288 calories for a 155-pound person
• 336 calories for a 185-pound person

While running for 30 minutes at 6mph (10 min/mile pace) burns:

• 295 calories for a 125-pound person
• 360 calories for a 155-pound person
• 420 calories for a 185-pound person.

Finally, running 30 minutes at a vigorous 10mph (6 min/mile pace) burns:

• 453 calories for a 125-pound person
• 562 calories for a 155-pound person
• 671 calories for a 185-pound person

#2: Body Composition

Less significant than total body weight as a factor, but still relevant, is your body composition, or the relative percentage of lean body mass versus body fat.

Muscle tissue is far more metabolically active than adipose tissue (fat)—especially during exercise—which means that if you have a more sculpted build, you’ll burn more calories per mile you run than someone with the same body weight but a higher body fat percentage.

#3: Sex

Men tend to burn more calories per mile running than women, even when matched by weight. This difference is primarily a product of differences in body composition. Men generally have more lean body mass relative to women, who have a higher body fat percentage.

Because muscle demands more energy and burns more calories than fat, men tend to have a higher metabolic rate than weight-matched women.

#4: Age

Age can play a minor role in the number of calories you burn running. In general, metabolic rate decreases with age, though it’s not a simple linear decline over time. The decline is primarily attributable to sarcopenia, or loss of muscle mass, after age 40 or so.

Children and adolescents also have a higher metabolic rate due to the energy demands of growth and development.

#5: Duration of Your Run

This one’s pretty obvious: The longer you run, the more calories you’ll burn. If you run for an hour, you’ll burn about twice as many calories as you burn running 30 minutes at the same speed.

#6: Running Speed

Of course, the faster you run, the more distance you will travel over the same period of time, which is why caloric expenditure increases with speed.

According to research shared by Run Repeat, a runner weighing 155 pounds can burn anywhere from 563 calories to 1267 calories in an hour, depending on pace.2Calories Burned Running: How Many Calories Burned Running? (n.d.). Athletic Shoe Reviews. https://runrepeat.com/calories-burned-running

For example, when running at a 10 min/mile pace, the 155-pound runner covers six miles and burns 704 calories in an hour, while running at a blazing 6 min/mile pace burns 1,126 calories (and covers 10 miles).

Also, the faster you run, the greater the intensity of the workout, much like the principle applied with high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts.

If you tackle a race or speedwork at a vigorous enough intensity, you’ll significantly stoke your metabolism, which will continue to be elevated and burn additional calories even after your run is over.

#7: Incline

Running uphill burns significantly more calories than running on flat, level ground. The intensity increases, and you have to lift your legs higher. This requires more muscle activation and power, which increases the number of calories you burn running.

#8: Terrain

Although not always applicable, the terrain can impact calories burned running to some degree. Distinct from incline or decline, in this sense, terrain refers to the footing or surface you’re running on.

Running varied and challenging terrain, such as muddy or rocky trails and grass, burns more calories than running on a smooth, even surface like a treadmill, track, asphalt, or concrete road.

Unpredictable and varied surfaces, such as trails, require more stabilization and muscle activation in the ankles, feet, legs, and core than a smooth and uniform road. Additionally, softer surfaces absorb a little bit of energy, whereas hard roads have a greater energy return.

Ultimately, the differences in calories burned on a trail run or treadmill run are more a product of the topography (incline/decline) than the running surface. Still, slight differences can add up over long runs.

#9: Fitness Level

It’s not uncommon for people to complain of hitting a weight loss plateau despite following their usual diet and fitness plan to a T. While frustrating, this phenomenon can be attributed to the fact that the body adapts to our workout routine and becomes more efficient.

Unfortunately, as much as it’s a relief when what was once a brutal workout starts to feel very manageable over time, this reduction in necessary effort is evidence of the progress your body has made and the fitness adaptations that have occurred from the same exercise stimulus.

In other words, if you are a beginner runner and then decide to run four miles one day, your body is going to struggle to get you through the workout due to a lower cardio fitness level. However, if you continue to run the same four-mile route at the same pace for the next six weeks, the run will become easier and easier.

Your heart, lungs, and muscles become stronger; your muscles become more efficient at extracting oxygen from the blood, and neuromuscular connections operate in a more coordinated manner. These adaptations improve your running economy, and the number of calories you burn during the same run decreases.

Essentially, the fitter you are and the more accustomed you are to running, the less energy you’ll use and the fewer calories you’ll burn on your run.

With that said, this difference isn’t all that drastic and certainly shouldn’t deter you from being a regular runner. If anything, use the concept to motivate you to keep your workout routine varied, including different types of workouts, routes, terrain, and paces, and incorporate cross-training activities as well.

#10: Weather Conditions

Again, while relatively minimal, the weather conditions can impact how many calories you burn running. Windy conditions or very hot and humid conditions are more demanding on your body, so you can expect your caloric expenditure to be slightly higher.

How to Calculate Calories Burned Running

So, with all that said, determining the number of calories you burn on a run isn’t necessarily an easy answer. There are a few different approaches to calculating it:

Fitness Trackers and Apps

You can use the calorie estimates from a fitness tracker, GPS-running watch, Apple Health, or smartphone app, or even a treadmill. Still, the accuracy can vary widely, and these values are not particularly reliable.3Xie, J., Wen, D., Liang, L., Jia, Y., Gao, L., & Lei, J. (2018). Evaluating the Validity of Current Mainstream Wearable Devices in Fitness Tracking Under Various Physical Activities: Comparative Study. JMIR MHealth and UHealth, 6(4), e94. https://doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.9754

Heart Rate Monitors

Your best approximation will come from wearing a heart-rate activity monitor.

Monitoring your heart rate during your run gives you an indication of the intensity of your effort and the associated metabolic cost. A heart rate monitor that approximates your caloric expenditure running will be more accurate than a fitness tracker that does not measure heart rate data.

MET Formula

If you don’t have a fitness tracking device or a phone app, the metabolic equivalent (MET) formula can be used to provide a generalized estimate of how many calories you’ll burn while running, and in a pinch, can serve as a sort of calories burned running calculator.

Calories burned = MET * weight (kg) * time (hrs)

The MET value relates to the amount of oxygen used in the particular activity. It is generally between 6 and 14 for running. The faster your pace, the higher the MET value.

Top End Sports reports that running 6mph (10 min/mile pace) has a MET value of 10, while running 8mph (7.5 min/mile pace) increases the MET value to 13.5.4MET: Calculating calories burned during physical activity. (2019). Topendsports.com. https://www.topendsports.com/weight-loss/energy-met.htm

For example, if you weigh 82 kg (180 pounds) and run 6 miles in 1 hour, you can expect to burn around 820 calories (10*82*1 = 820). Running faster at 8mph would burn 1107 calories (13.5*82*1 = 1107).

Running is one of the most efficient ways to burn energy, but the exact number depends on factors like your weight, pace, distance, terrain, and fitness level. Our calculator offers a reliable estimate you can refine with heart-rate data and a training log.

Use these numbers to guide your fueling—replacing calories for performance or creating a modest deficit for weight loss—while remembering that under-fueling risks injury and burnout.

Most importantly, don’t let calories be the only focus: the true benefits of running go beyond numbers, boosting your health, mood, and confidence with every mile.

Other Health Calculators

• BMI Calculator
• Body Fat Percentage Calculator
• Ideal Body Weight Calculator
• Daily Calories Burned Calculator
• Calories Burned Per Activity Calculator
• Calories Burned Per Run Distance Calculator

Other Running Calculators

• Running Pace Calculator
• Race Time Predictor
• Marathon Finish Time Predictor
• Marathon Pace Calculator
• Age-Graded Finishing Time Calculator

References

• 1Harvard Health Publishing. (2021, March 8). Calories burned in 30 minutes of leisure and routine activities. Harvard Health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/diet-and-weight-loss/calories-burned-in-30-minutes-for-people-of-three-different-weights
• 2Calories Burned Running: How Many Calories Burned Running? (n.d.). Athletic Shoe Reviews. https://runrepeat.com/calories-burned-running
• 3Xie, J., Wen, D., Liang, L., Jia, Y., Gao, L., & Lei, J. (2018). Evaluating the Validity of Current Mainstream Wearable Devices in Fitness Tracking Under Various Physical Activities: Comparative Study. JMIR MHealth and UHealth, 6(4), e94. https://doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.9754
• 4MET: Calculating calories burned during physical activity. (2019). Topendsports.com. https://www.topendsports.com/weight-loss/energy-met.htm