Looking to learn more about how long it takes to walk a mile? Then you have come to the right place.
If humans were born to run, then we’re born to walk first. Walking is an innate form of movement for humans since we’re the only consistently bipedal primates.
That’s why it shouldn’t be surprising that walking and running are among the most popular forms of exercise.
So how long does it take to walk a mile? I hate to state the obvious, but the duration of a mile depends mainly on your average pace. The faster you can walk, the shorter it takes to cover a mile.
Regardless of your goals, here’s everything you need to know about how long it takes to walk a mile and a little more.
How Long Does Take To Walk A Mile?
Shooting for a mile walk daily is a fantastic way to add more movement into your daily routine.
Many variables will impact your walking pace, impacting how long it takes to walk a mile.
For example, competitive walkers can walk a mile in 11 minutes, according to a 2015 study on walking groups. However, keep in mind that these professional athletes can keep a fast pace for one mile.
But if you want a ballpark range, you should know that, on average, most people can walk three to four miles per hour.
This means it’d take roughly 15 to 20 minutes to walk a mile straight up, or three to four miles an hour, according to a large, long-term study.
I’d guess anything between 14 to 20 minutes. If you’re a beginner or older and walk at a t easier pace, your average mile time might be closer to 20 minutes.
But overall, average walking speed can be improved with regular practice.
Your walking pace and speed depend on a few variables: age, fitness level, gender, terrain, and temperature. Men walk a bit faster than women, and the older you get, the slower you walk, according to a 2011 study.
That leaves a lot of margin for the above variables. Luckily, you can find many apps to help you calculate your distance and pace.
Additional Resource – Here’s the full guide to how long does it take to run a mile.
The Benefits of Walking
As you can already tell, walking has a lot to offer, as it can help with several physical and mental issues.
Walking regularly can:
- Improve your fitness level – spending more time being active can improve your endurance and overall conditioning
- Improve your insulin sensitivity – which can help you lose body fat and improve body composition
- Reduce your risk of chronic “lifestyle” conditions – such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
- Boost your brain power—walking improves circulation through the brain, according to research from New Mexico Highlands University.
- Reduce the risk of life-threatening conditions – such as depression, strokes, and coronary heart disease.
- Help you to think more creatively – walking has been shown to allow subjects’ thoughts to flu more freely, which is key for problem-solving, according to research published by The American Psychological Association.
How Many Steps in One Mile?
Again, and as you can already tell, this can vary widely.
Overall, it takes the average person around 2000 to 2500 steps to cover one mile of walking. This research has reported that walking 3 miles per hour adds up to 2,252 steps per mile, whereas a 4-mph walk equals around 1,935 steps per mile.
This means that the faster you walk, the fewer steps you need to cover one mile.
What’s more?
If you jog or run, you’ll need even fewer steps to cover one mile since you’re getting more steps while running. (Learn more about how many miles is 10000 steps here. You can also learn more about how many laps is a mile around a track here.)
Additional resource – How long does it take to walk five miles
How Many Calories Does Walking a Mile Burn?
The number of calories burned during a one-mile walk depends on various factors. These include:
- Walking speed
- Bodyweight
- Terrain and include level, and
- Fitness level
But, overall, it’s not impossible to guess how many calories you will burn. So here, in broad strokes, how many calories you’ll burn according to body weight:
- Weighing 120 pounds (54.4 kg)? Expect to burn 65 per mile.
- Weighing 160 pounds (72.4 kg)? Expect to burn 105 per mile
- Weighing 180 pounds (81.64 kg)? Expect to burn 115 per mile
Based on these estimates, expect to burn around 450 to 700 calories weekly if you walk a mile daily. Sure, the more miles you walk, the more calories you burn.
Here’s how many calories burn running a mile.
How Fast You Can Walk A mile
Five minutes and 31 seconds. That’s the world record for the fastest mile ever walked set by the British Olympian Tom Bosworth.
5:30 is faster than most runners can over that same distance, so it’s likely out of reach for most recreational walkers.
To improve your walking speed, use a smartwatch or a phone app to keep track of speed in real time and monitor your progress.
Additional Resource- Here’s the full guide to RPE in exercise.
How To Increase Your Walking Pace
To improve your walking pace, you’ve to build stamina. How do you do that? By walking more often. The more miles you walk, the better you’ll perform.
To improve your walking pace, you’ll need to monitor your progress. Remember that you might need to take a break or tow or adjust your speed to catch your breath.
Also, your stamina will improve, and your one-mile time will drop as you get fitter. You can find your walking pace using a smartwatch or a phone app that tracks your distance and speed.
Additional resource – How long is a 100-mile race?
Intensity Level
Another practical way to monitor your progress is to keep track of your perceived exertion.
You can monitor your exertion—or fatigue—live by taking note of how you’re feeling during the walk—as in, you can keep a conversation during the walk—or by keeping track of your heart rate via a heart rate monitor.
As your breathing rate increase—and so does your heart rate. Maintaining a higher heart rate is difficult, so you may have to slow down to catch your breath.
As you get fitter, you’ll improve your cardiac output and aerobic capacity, or what’s known as VO2 max. This means that you won’t get out of breath as fast.
Longer Distance
Looking to know how long it would take to walk other distances?
Then there are a few examples of setting you on the right path. You can also use a pace calculator to determine other distances you want to know about. Here’s how to keep track of far you walk and run.
Additional Resource – How Many Calories Should a Runner Eat