Calculate Your Walking Time: From 1 Mile to a Marathon

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Verywell / Ryan Kelly

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Whether walking for fitness, a charity walk, or a race, it helps to know how long it will take to walk a mile at various walking paces. You should understand how to translate your distance into common race and event mileage such as 5K, 10K, marathon, or half-marathon and look at typical finishing times.

Distances and Common Times

Here is basic information for common race distances:

  • Kilometer: A kilometer is 0.62 miles, 3,281.5 feet, or 1,000 meters. It takes 10 to 12 minutes to walk at a moderate pace.
  • Mile: A mile is 1.61 kilometers or 5,280 feet. It takes 15 to 20 minutes to walk 1 mile at a moderate pace.
  • 3K: 3 kilometers equals 1.85 miles, 9,842.5 feet, or just a little less than 2 miles. This is a common distance for charity walks, especially those with accessible routes. It takes 30 to 37 minutes to walk 3K at a moderate pace.
  • 5K: 5 kilometers equals 3.1 miles. This is a common race distance for charity walks and fun runs (although competitive runners also participate in 5Ks and run them at a fast pace). It takes about an hour to walk 5K at a moderate pace.
  • 10K: 10 kilometers equals 6.2 miles. This is a common distance for fun runs, which may or may not be walker-friendly. It takes about two hours to walk 10K at a moderate pace.
  • Half-Marathon: 13.1 miles or 21 kilometers. It takes 4 or 4.5 hours to walk a half-marathon, and some walkers can finish in 3 to 4 hours.
  • Marathon: 26.2 miles or 42 kilometers. It can 6.5 to 8 hours or more to walk a marathon at a moderate pace, depending on your strides and how often you stop.
  • Ultramarathon: These races can be any distance above 42 kilometers or 26 miles. The most common distances for these events are 50 kilometers (31 miles) 100 kilometers (62 miles), 50 miles (80.5 kilometers), and 100 miles (161 kilometers).

Walking at Different Paces

The charts below help translate walking event distances into time, kilometers, and miles at various fitness-walking paces. There are no standardized criteria for pace categories, but studies indicate a moderate walking pace is roughly 3 to 5 miles per hour.

  • Fast: 7 minutes per kilometer or 11 minutes per mile
  • Moderate: 10 minutes per kilometer or 15 minutes per mile
  • Easy: 12.5+ minutes per kilometer or 20+ minutes per mile

These paces may seem fast, but it is typical for people to walk faster than usual when at a group event or competition. An easy pace will put you at the back of the pack, while at the fast pace, you will be with some of the runners and run/walkers.

There are several ways to measure or calculate your walking speed, including phone apps, GPS watches, and low-tech options using a known distance (such as around a running track) and a stopwatch. To determine your pace, try a calculator.

Note:

The charts below were developed using the pace calculator above.

Kilometer Chart

Kilometers Miles Fast Walk Moderate Walk Easy Walk
1 0.62 0:07  0:10 0:13
2 1.24 0:14 0:20 0:25
3 1.86 0:21 0:30 0:38
4 2.48 0:28 0:40 0:50
5 3.11 0:35 0:50 1:25
6 3.73 0:42 1:00 1:15
7 4.35 0:49 1:10 1:27
8 4.97 0:56 1:20 1:40
9 5.59 1:03 1:30 1:53
10 6.21 1:10 1:40 1:55
11 6.83 1:17 1:50 2:18
12 7.45 1:24 2:00 2:30
13 8.07 1:31 2:10 1:43
14 8.69 1:38 2:20 1:55
15 9.32 1:45 2:30 3:08
16 9.94 1:52 2:40 3:20
17 10.56 1:59 2:50 3:32
18 11.18 2:06 3:00 3:45
19 11.80 2:13 3:10 3:58
20 12.42 2:20 3:20 4:10

Half-Marathon:

Kilometers Miles Fast Walk Moderate Walk Easy Walk
21 13.1 2:27 3:30 4:23

Marathon:

Kilometers Miles Fast Walk Moderate Walk Easy Walk
42 26.2 4:54 7:00 9:00

Miles Chart

Miles Kilometers Fast Walk Moderate Walk Easy Walk
1 1.6 0:11 0:15 0:20
2 3.2 0:22 0:30 0:40
3 4.8 0:33 0:45 1:00
4 6.4 0:44 1:00 1:20
5 8.1 0:55 1:15 1:40
6 9.7 1:06 1:30 2:00
7 11.3 1:17 1:45 2:20
8 12.9 1:28 2:00 2:40
9 14.5 1:39 2:15 3:00
10 16.1 1:50 2:30 3:20
11 17.7 2:01 2:45 3:40
12 19.3 2:12 3:00 4:00

Half-Marathon:

Miles Kilometers Fast Walk Moderate Walk Easy Walk
13.1 21.1 2:23 3:15 4:20

Marathon:

Miles Kilometers Fast Walk Moderate Walk Easy Walk
26.2 42.2 4:48 6:40 8:44

Using these charts gives you a rough estimate of how long it will take to walk at a fitness walk pace without stops. Add in more time for waiting at intersections for the crossing signal, making rest stops, stopping for photos, playing Pokemon Go, etc.

Pacing and Finishing Time

Timing yourself over a mile can help predict your finish time for an organized walking event up to 10 kilometers. Sometimes a race will want to know your pace in minutes per mile when you register. It's best to warm up and walk a mile nonstop at your best pace to time it. Do this three times to find an average.

Before registering for a longer race or event with a cutoff time, predict your finish time to ensure you're entering an event you know you can complete under the time limit.

For a half-marathon prediction, add 20 seconds per mile to the pace you were able to do to finish a 10K. For a marathon prediction, multiply your 10-kilometer finish time by five.

Training for Different Distances

Training can do wonders. By gradually building your walking distance and paying attention to your posture and walking form, you will be able to walk faster and longer.

It's always a good idea to build up your walking time steadily from shorter to longer distances. By adding a longer walk each week, you will build your muscles and stamina. You will also toughen the skin on your feet, which helps prevent blisters.

Start with the distance you are able to walk comfortably.

Add a mile to that distance each week, which will be between 15 and 20 more minutes of steady walking. Try a 30-day quick-start walking plan to begin building your walking mileage, whether you want to walk a mile, enjoy a 5-kilometer charity walk, or even train for a half-marathon or marathon.

1 Source
Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. Hanson S, Jones A. Is there evidence that walking groups have health benefits? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med. 2015;49(11):710-5. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2014-094157

Wendy Bumgardner

By Wendy Bumgardner
Wendy Bumgardner is a Verywell Fit writer covering walking and other health and fitness topics and has competed in more than 1,000 walking events.