Quick answer: step length = speed / cadence. At 9:00 per mile and 170 steps per minute, each step covers 1.05 m (41.4 in), and a full stride (two steps, left plus right) is 2.10 m.
Step or stride?
Here a step is the distance from one foot landing to the other foot landing, and a stride is two steps, from one foot back to the same foot. Not every app or watch uses the words the same way, so check which one a device means before comparing. This calculator shows both.
Two ways to use it
From pace and cadence. Type a pace and your steps per minute (from your watch, or counted with the cadence calculator). The calculator turns pace into metres per minute and divides by cadence.
From a counted distance. Run one lap of a track (400 m in lane 1) or another measured stretch at a steady pace and count every footfall. Enter the distance and the count. When both methods are filled in, the measured one is used for the main result and the pace-based one is shown beside it, which is a handy check on a watch's numbers.
Worked example
5:00 per km is 200 m per minute. At 180 steps per minute, 200 / 180 = 1.111 m per step. Counting instead, 380 steps for a 400 m lap is 400 / 380 = 1.053 m, which works out to 1,529 steps per mile.
Why it changes
Speed is cadence multiplied by step length, so running faster means a quicker step, a longer one or both. Your step length on an easy day and in a race can differ a lot. Hills, fatigue and shoes change it too, so measure at the pace you care about.
Need steps for walking or a daily step goal? Use the steps per mile calculator. To turn pace into time and distance, open the pace calculator.
Formula and examples checked . Found a problem? Tell us.
Questions
How do I calculate my stride length?
Divide a known distance by the steps you took to cover it, or divide your speed in metres per minute by your cadence. 400 m in 380 steps is 1.05 m per step.
What is the difference between step length and stride length?
A step goes from one foot to the other; a stride is two steps, from one foot back to the same foot. A 1.05 m step means a 2.10 m stride.
Should I lengthen my stride to run faster?
Speed comes from cadence times step length, so either can rise. Reaching far ahead of your body with each step is a different thing from a longer, powerful push-off.