Quick answer: a 160 lb (72.6 kg) runner who covers 3 miles in 30:00 (6 mph, a 10:00 mile) burns about 381 kcal gross, or 343 kcal net of resting. That is about 127 kcal per mile and 761 kcal per hour. Net of resting, the same runner spends about 114 kcal per mile on flat ground at any running speed.
How to use it
Type your body weight, then any two of distance, time and pace: a GPS run gives you distance and time, a treadmill session might give pace and time. Add an incline if the route climbs or the belt is raised. The result shows gross calories (everything your body used during the run) and net calories (only the extra above sitting still), plus the figure per mile, per kilometre and per hour.
Worked example by hand
Take the quick-answer runner. Speed: 6 mph x 26.8 = about 160.9 metres per minute. Oxygen cost: 0.2 x 160.9 + 3.5 = 35.7 ml per kg per minute. Multiply by 72.6 kg and divide by 1,000 to get 2.59 litres of oxygen a minute. At 4.9 kcal per litre that is 12.7 kcal a minute, and 30 minutes gives 381 kcal. Drop the resting 3.5 from the oxygen cost and the same steps give 343 kcal.
The formula behind it
This uses the running equation from the American College of Sports Medicine metabolic calculations table: VO2 = 0.2 x speed + 0.9 x speed x grade + 3.5, with speed in metres per minute and grade as a decimal (5% = 0.05). The table converts oxygen to energy at 4.9 kcal per litre. Because the speed term is linear, the net cost of a flat mile works out to about 1.58 kcal per kg of body weight (0.98 kcal per kg per km) whether you jog or race it. Faster running burns more per hour, not more per mile. Hills change that: at 6 mph a 2% grade lifts the hourly figure from 761 to 823 kcal for the same runner.
Calories burned running 1 to 5 miles
Gross kcal at a 10:00 mile (6 mph) on flat ground, from the same ACSM equation, plus the net cost of one mile. Pace matters only a little per mile: for the 160 lb runner a mile costs about 124 kcal gross at 8:00 per mile and 129 at 12:00, and the net figure does not change with speed at all.
| Body weight | 1 mile | 2 miles | 3 miles | 4 miles | 5 miles | Net per mile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 130 lb (59.0 kg) | 103 | 206 | 309 | 412 | 516 | 93 |
| 160 lb (72.6 kg) | 127 | 254 | 381 | 508 | 635 | 114 |
| 190 lb (86.2 kg) | 151 | 301 | 452 | 603 | 754 | 136 |
Jogging or running?
The equation does not care what you call it. Jogging is just running at an easy speed, and as long as you are above 5 mph the same formula applies. A 160 lb person jogging at 5 mph (a 12:00 mile) for 30 minutes burns about 323 kcal gross, or 286 net of resting. Below 5 mph the ACSM table no longer vouches for the running equation, and if you are walking, the walking equation fits better.
Limits
- ACSM lists the running equation as most accurate above 5 mph (134 m/min). Below that, the calculator flags the result.
- It is an average for a typical adult. Running economy, terrain, wind, heat and body composition all move the real number, so treat the result as an estimate, not a measurement.
- Watches and gym consoles use their own models and often disagree with each other and with this page.
- Calories burned are not a weight-loss forecast. Food intake and daily movement matter as much as the run.
- The equation covers uphill grades. It does not model downhill running.
Walking part of the route? Use the walking calorie calculator. On a belt, try the treadmill calorie calculator, or get your split times from the pace calculator. For other sports and gym machines, use the calories burned calculator.
Sources: ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, Table 7.3 metabolic calculations (as reproduced by Texas Tech University); ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription (Wolters Kluwer). Rules checked . Found a problem? Tell us.
Questions
How many calories does running a mile burn?
For a 160 lb runner on flat ground, about 127 kcal gross at a 10:00 mile and about 114 kcal net of resting. The net figure per mile barely changes with speed, because the ACSM equation makes oxygen cost rise in step with speed.
How many calories does jogging burn?
For a 160 lb person, about 323 kcal in 30 minutes at 5 mph (a 12:00 mile), or 647 kcal an hour, by the ACSM running equation. Per mile it is the same as faster running: about 114 kcal net on flat ground.
Do you burn more calories running faster?
Per hour, yes: the 160 lb runner burns about 647 kcal an hour at 5 mph and about 990 kcal an hour at 8 mph. Per mile, almost no difference, because you finish the mile sooner.
What is the difference between gross and net calories?
Gross is everything your body burned during the run, including what it would have burned at rest. Net subtracts resting oxygen use (3.5 ml per kg per minute), so it shows only what the run itself added.
Why does my watch show a different number?
Each device uses its own model, often adding heart rate. No method is exact without lab gas analysis, so compare runs on the same tool rather than mixing tools.