Running is one of the most common workouts for fitness, weight loss, stress relief, or overall strength. No matter your purpose for running, one question always pops up:
"How many calories do I burn during a running session?"
That's where our Running Calorie Calculator steps in. It helps you estimate calories burned using a science-backed method based on real-world factors such as body weight, running duration, and intensity.
We prepared this guide for you, and we hope you find our calculator both fun and informative.
In simple, running calories means how many calories your body burns when you run. Running requires a high metabolic demand, and your body works harder because your major organs such as the heart, lungs, circulatory system, muscles, and joints burn a high amount of calories. Running is an intense activity and burns 2 to 3 times more calories compared to walking.
For instance, a 160-pound person running at 6 mph for 30 minutes burns around 370 to 380 calories, and the same person walking at 3.5 mph for 30 minutes burns approximately 160 calories. This indicates that running burns about 2.2 times more calories compared to walking.
A running calorie calculator is an online tool that makes the process automatic so you don't need to do it manually, use our running calorie calculator to accurately estimate running calories burned. The calculator uses a MET value and the standard ACSM-style MET metabolic equation which is science-backed to accurately estimate calories burned based on real-world factors.
Here are the inputs the calculator uses to estimate:
The calculator is flexible enough to allow you to enter custom MET value if your intensity is other than preset in the intensity input. If you are thinking about how exactly a running calories are calculated, keep reading! the next section is about it.
The logic behind the calculator is fairly simple: it uses MET value for determining running intensity and an ACSM-style MET equation to estimate calories burned accurately. Here's the formula:
Calories per minute = (MET value × 3.5 × body weight in kg) / 200
Total calories = Calories per minute × running minutes
Our calculator uses preset MET values in the intensity input and also allows you to add a custom MET value. The following presets are available in the calculator:
Keep in mind that a higher MET means more calories burned.
Wondering how you can compute the running calorie calculation to see exactly how it works? In this example, we clearly explain the steps involved in estimating calories burned in running.
Determine your body weight e.g. 70 kg, how long you run e.g. 30 minutes, and the intensity of running e.g. steady run (10 MET).
In this step, we use the ACSM-style MET formula to estimate the calories burned per minute (kcal/min).
Calories per minute = (MET value × 3.5 × body weight in kg) / 200= (10 × 3.5 × 70) / 200= 2450 / 200Calories per minute = 12.25 kcal per minuteLastly, multiply the 12.25 kcal per minute by the time 30 minutes to get total calories burned:
= 12.25 kcal per minute × 30 minutesTotal calories burned = 367.5 caloriesThat’s how simple it is to estimate running calories burned. Keep reading to learn more about calories burned when running with incline, elevation gain and how intensity affects your heart rate.
Running with incline hits the body harder than running on a flat surface. It increases energy usage, effort, oxygen consumption, and burns a higher amount of calories.
In the following table, we demonstrate how incline impacts the approximate MET values. Keep in mind that it heavily depends on running speed:
| Speed (mph) | Approx. METs (0% Incline) | Approx. METs (5% Incline) | Added METs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.0 mph | 8.3 | ~10.0 | ~+1.5–2.0 |
| 6.0 mph | 9.8 | ~12.0 | ~+2.0–2.5 |
| 7.0 mph | 11.0 | ~13.5 | ~+2.5–3.0 |
If you are manually estimating or using a custom MET value in the calculator, and there is incline involved, determine your added METs based on the incline percentage and speed (see the table above). If you are not sure about your running speed, estimate it by using a pace calculator.
For example, if your running speed is 6 mph with a 5% incline, so that incline will add roughly 2.5 METs. Based on your running intensity MET value, you can combine the incline MET value with the intensity MET.
Suppose your running intensity is a steady run (10 MET). Add the 5% incline MET value (2.5 METs):
10 MET + 2.5 MET = 12.5 METs
12.5 METs is the total that you can use to estimate calories burned.
Running with elevation gain significantly burns more calories, some studies show that running uphill burns 250 more calories per hour compared to running on flat surface.
Look at the following table providing you detail about how elevation gain effect the METs value and speed:
| Activity | MET Value | Intensity Level |
|---|---|---|
| Running, general (self-selected pace) | 7.5 METs | Vigorous |
| Running, 6 mph (10 min/mile) on flat | 10.0 METs | Vigorous |
| Running, 7 mph (8.5 min/mile) on flat | 11.0 METs | Vigorous |
| Running uphill, 4.5 mph, 5 percent incline | 10.3 METs | Vigorous |
| Running uphill, 6.0 mph, 5 percent incline | 13.3 METs | Vigorous |
| Running uphill, 5.0 to 5.9 mph, 15 percent incline | 17.5 METs | Vigorous |
| Running, hilly terrain (approx. plus minus 100 m change) | 16.0 METs | Vigorous |
It's no secret that your heart rate is one of the most accurate indicators of body performance. It tells about your running intensity, e.g. a higher heart rate indicates a higher MET value during running.
Look at the following table showing how bpm affects MET level:
| Heart rate (bpm) | Relative intensity | Approx. MET range |
|---|---|---|
| 120–140 | Easy–steady run / strong jog | ~3–6 MET |
| 140–160 | Steady–tempo run | ~6–9 MET |
| 160–180 | Hard intervals / race‑pace effort | ~9–13 MET |
| > 180 | Near‑max sprint zone | ~12–15+ MET |
These heart-rate-based MET levels are approximate, and the actual values depends on age, max heart rate, overall fitness, and running pace.
If an average person runs for 30 minutes, he will burn around 300 to 900 calories heavily depends on age, weight, intensity, and overall fitness.