Looking to learn more about how many steps in one mile walking or running? You’re in the right place.
Many variables influence step count, such as whether you’re running or walking, how tall you are, and even your sex—and that’s where things get complicated.
In this article, I’ll explain how each factor influences step count. I’ve also included plenty of tables (from reliable sources) that give step count estimates for different running/walking speeds, heights, gender, and so much more.
Sounds great?
Let’s lace up and dig in.
How Many Steps in a Mile Walking?
There are between 1800 to 2500 steps in the one-mile walk. (Learn more about how many miles in 10000 steps here)
Why the wide range? The reason boils down to a few variables such as walking speed, height, and sex—all of which influence your walking step length.
How Many Steps In Mile Running?
The previous figure decreases to around 1,400 to 1,700 steps per mile when running thanks to the increase in stride length.
Running one mile takes roughly 1400 to 1800 steps. We’re taking fewer steps due to the increase in stride length.
For example, if you’re 5’6” tall, running a 9:00-mile, you’ll take roughly 1480 steps in a mile running.
Let’s Discuss the factors that impact step count.
Note – Here’s how long does it take to run a mile.
Stride Length
The number of steps per mile varies from runner to runner and hinges mainly on your stride length.
The average person has a stride length of roughly 2.1 to 2.5 feet. That means that it takes about 2,000 steps to walk one mile and over 10,000 steps to cover five miles.
The longer your stride, the fewer steps you need to cover a mile.
That makes sense, right.
Once you have a rough figure of how many steps are average for a mile, you can start to plan and see how far you need to walk or run to reach the highly recommended 10,000 steps per day on a pedometer.
Additional source – Here’s the full guide to running stride length.
The Average Stride Length
Stride length refers to the distance from the heel print of your foot to the heel print of the other. Stride length varies hinging on pace—running or walking—surface—whether you’re cross streets or on hills or hard trails.
Stride length can be measured based on height, and a lot of fitness devices do.
The average stride length is 2.5 feet—or 0.76 meters—for men and roughly 2.2 feet—or 0.67 meters for women.
Taller people tend to have bigger strides, thus, take fewer steps to cover a given distance. That’s one of the reasons elite sprinters are often so tall.
Determining Your Step Count
Once you determine your stride length, use the following formula to determine your step count:
5,280/stride length in feet (or 63,360/stride length in inches).
Some fitness gadgets ask that you input your stride length during setup in order to measure distance based on step count.
Additional resource – How To Run An 8-Minute Mile?
Sex
Sex, as in your birth-assigned gender, also affects your step count.
This often affects gait between men and women, which causes changes to step length.
Typically, men stride out further.
So for the average person:
- One mile = 1,900 to 2,400 walking steps
- One kilometer = 1,150 to 1500 walking steps
- Ten thousand steps with average stride length = four to five miles
Additional resource – Average time to walk a mile
How Many Steps In A Mile Running – Based on Height
Here’s a table of the average number of steps per mile running, according to data analyzed by an ASCM Health and Fitness Journal.
Steps In One Mile Running
The same study from before has also shared the following norms.
Step Count Norms For Men
Step Count Norms for Women
Steps Per Mile Table
Once you figure you your average step length, input in this table to figure out the number of steps in a mile walking or running.
Source: 10000 Steps – The Walking Site
Additional links:
Steps in One Mile Walking Vs. Running – The Conclusion
There you have it! If you’re looking to answers for how many steps in one mile walking or running, then today’s post has you covered. The rest is just details.
Please feel free to leave your comments and questions in the section below.
In the meantime, thank you for dropping by.
David D.