How Long Does It Take to Walk a Mile?

Walking is a healthy way of physical exercise that anyone has access to. You don’t need any special equipment or clothes to walk a mile or training in the city. The longer the walking distance is the better you will train your body.

More than 145 million adults now include walking as part of a physically active lifestyle – according to the CDC

Respectively, people wonder how much time it may take to walk a mile distance on foot.
In this article, you will learn not only about the average walking speed but also you will get a lot of useful information regarding this sort of physical activity.

Benefits of Walking You Might Not Know Before

First of all, let’s figure out why walking is so useful as it is said to be.
Well, this kind of physical activity is not that hard to do and it does not require any extreme efforts or any special training.

Popularity of Walking as an Activity

When it comes to exercise preferences, walking takes the lead for most people:

• Walking: 86.59%
• Run: 9.06%
• Gym: 2.54%
• Fitness: 1.81%

Unlike many other kinds of sport where you need to waste a lot of energy and be agile enough, anyone can go for a pedestrian trip even without being a trained sportsman.

What usefulness does walking have then if one doesn’t make much effort for doing it? Well, there are several reasons that can be found to prove that regular walking brings the same much usefulness as any other physical activity.

• Boosts Heart and Lung Health: Regular walking will make your heart and lungs stronger as they need to process much more air and blood, respectively, while you are walking
• Ideal for Cardiovascular Fitness: Walking is a great kind of cardiovascular fitness for those who can’t bear more intense training, for example, because of some heart problems
• Reduces Heart Disease Risk: Walking training reduces the risk of getting a heart attack. Besides, it makes our heart more resistant to various diseases
• Manages Health Conditions: When walking on a regular basis, your body will be able to manage high blood pressure, high cholesterol level, as well as muscular pain/stiffness or even diabetes much better
• Strengthens Bones and Improves Balance: In addition, if walking regularly, you will strengthen your bones and will improve your body balance
• Builds Stronger Muscles: Our muscles grow stronger, too, due to the permanent walking training
• Aids Weight Loss: And of course, your body will lose some weight, too

How To Track Your Health Benefits And What Scientist Says?

Catrine Tudor-Locke, professor of kinesiology, and postdoctoral researchers Elroy Aguiar and Scott Ducharme have counted that for adults (21-40) moderate walking pace is about 100 steps per minute. But for the same age vigorous walking pace is an average of 130 steps per minute. (Published at International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity)

How to count your steps while you are walking? Simply count your steps for 15 sec and then multiple by 4. (source – Science Daily)

Now that we have figured out the basic pros of walking, it’s time to learn more details regarding some nuances of this kind of training.

How Long Is a Mile?

One mile is approximately equal to one and a half kilometers. In terms of time, we spend about twenty minutes to walk a one-mile distance at a brisk pace.

Average time to run a mile

Running a mile distance takes us somewhat time.

• Non-professional runner – fifteen minutes,
• Experienced sportsman will run one mile – ten minutes
• Elite marathon runners  – five minutes

Nevertheless, if one walks or runs a mile somewhere on a rocky or uneven landscape, covering this length may take more time. When we walk or run on a plane, being on a flat and even road, it takes us less effort to move.

However, if we try to cover the same distance in the mountains or even in a hilly area, it might be way more complicated to keep up the meaning of pace when we would also have to constantly go up and down.

What Weight Loss We Get When Walking?

One mile walk is a great kind of fitness for weight loss.

Compared to running, it is more relaxed but still walking will burn many calories easily.

If you define a brisk pace, you will burn 100-300 calories per half an hour or 200-600 calories per hour.

It means that if we walk a couple of hours daily then we’ll have a weight loss equal to 8000 calories per week.

If we walk faster, then the number of calories we burn will respectively increase and the weight loss will be more effective and faster.

At first, during the 30 minutes of fitness, we burn sugars, and then, if we proceed or even walk faster, we burn calories from stored fat.

What Weight Loss We Achieve When Running?

Compared to walking fitness, running decreases our weight faster.

Of course, to get a stable loss of weight, we have to work regularly and consume proper food to avoid gaining the weight back.

How Many Miles Do You Walk Per Day?

Walking habits vary widely, but even a small daily effort can lead to significant health benefits. Here’s how people typically report their walking goals:

• Trying to walk at least a mile: 39.13%
• 2 miles at least: 30.43%
• Trying for 3 miles: 16.3%
• 4 miles and more: 14.13%

In addition, combining the different intensity of fitness training will result in a more effective loss of excess weight, too.

So how much weight we lose doing our running daily?

It hangs upon how many calories we intake with food since running must burn more than we receive, otherwise, the weight won’t change.

But normally, the mid-intensive training burns about 1-2 pounds per week.

What Food To Eat To Have a Stable Loss Of Weight Faster

The loss of weight comes faster if we stick to the proper diet.

It doesn’t mean that we need no calories, on the contrary, but to achieve good fitness, we need to have balanced eating.

• Cut back on sugars and starches. It will make the intake of calories more stable
• Consume more veggies, protein, and useful fat since like this you’ll stabilize the weight faster
• Do fitness training (e.g. lift weight) regularly
• Make portions smaller

It will allow controlling the weight during the fitness exercises.

Is Fitness The Same Effective As Walking?

Today many people go to the gym to do fitness almost daily.

This is a good way of training but is it the same effective as walking?

To begin with, we shall not compare these two ways of physical training since fitness may combine various kinds of activities, for instance, cardio training, stretching, aerobics, pilates, and many others.

On the other hand, walking is just walking and nothing more.

• Another significant distinction between these two types of physical activity is that fitness develops and trains different groups of muscles. We train our back, legs, arms, and belly muscles whereas walking is mostly concentrated on legs and the lower part of the body.
• Doing fitness can be unsuitable for some people due to certain health issues (for instance, heart problems, arthritis, bloodstream issues, etc.) whereas walking is literally multipurpose and can be easily performed by anyone no matter of what age, health state, or complexion the person is.
• In addition, fitness is usually far more active and intensive type of training compared to relatively slow and regular walking.

However, certain similarities do exist, too.

• Both activities improve our breathing and ventilation and make the lungs stronger and more durable.
• Both make our body more agile and slim
• Both walking and fitness contribute to the weight loss a lot

However, walking is more preferable for those who enjoy spending time outdoors since fitness is meant for the gym more.

Walking Health Restrictions

We are used to thinking that walking for good health is the safest way of physical activity and there are no restrictions regarding it.

Surprisingly, this kind of training is not allowed to anyone!

To make it clear, we are not talking about ordinary daily walks now. What we mean are the so-called sport-walking and professional walking.

So who must consult a doctor before starting to walk daily?

• People who suffer from diabetes
• Those who have hypertension
• People who have issues with arrhythmia
• People who had heart stroke or heart attack recently
• People with glaucoma
• Those who suffer from chronic lungs or kidneys diseases

If you have any of these illnesses, regular and intensive walking may make your state of health worse.

We would recommend to visit a doctor and ask whether this type of activity is safe for you and, if not, to advice you some other, harmless kinds of fitness activity.

Even the modern Scandinavian walking that was thought to be absolutely harmless is under the question today since doctors are inclined to think that this kind of physical activity may also have certain health restrictions.

How Much Time Does It Take the Average Person to Walk a Mile by feet?

If you just go for a short distance in the park or around the neighborhood, you usually don’t need to know how fast you have to move, how intense the pace shall be or how much time this training will take you (unless you need to be back at home by the certain time).
But if one goes for a long nature continuous somewhere in the wood or on the rugged terrain, it is always good to know how fast and intensive it is better to move.

Like that, you will be able to calculate the time needed for the trip and properly distribute your effort to be able to cover all the distance. Of course, because of this, you’d better know several hints that will let you plan your walking route better and make the whole training more effective.

How fast can humans walk a mile distance?

A mile is the shortest distance that anyone can cover and it consists of a bit more than one and a half kilometers. If you are walking it at a moderate pace, the usual time to cover a mile will be approximately fifteen to twenty minutes to manage this distance. Of course, if there are any difficult barriers on your way, the time may increase.

So, how fast can humans walk a mile distance? Humans can walk a mile up to 15-20 minutes. You can calculate your walking pace after measuring the time it takes you to walk a mile or a kilometer. Pedometers and apps that use GPS or step cadence are also used to display walking speed.

• What is the average pace to walk a mile

There is no specific pace meaning that one needs to follow. Unless you are being trained for a marathon, feel free to choose any pave intensity depending on your own preferences. Of course, take into account how much time you have for this certain trip and how extended the route is.

And what is the average pace to walk a mile? The average pace to walk a mile is around 4 miles per hour. If you want to improve, include interval training into your walking routine and it will enhance your speed. Calculate your walking pace after, the walking. Use apps with GPS to display your walking speed.

• What is the average speed to walk a mile?

Normally, the average walking speed for an adult human is about three to four miles per hour. Respectively, we usually walk 1.6 kilometers per fifteen or twenty minutes.

• How much time would it take to walk a mile on gentle terrain?

Cross-country walking is not the same as walking in the park. Depending on the specifics of the landscape and the route difficulty level, the time one may spend for a 1.6 km distance can vary. However, the normal duration of a 1.6 km trip will be half an hour for an adult.

So, how much time would it take to walk a mile on gentle terrain? An adult can walk a mile on gentle terrain in 30 minutes. The walking time depends on the terrain and the difficulty level of the route. Jogging is not the same as walking in the park. Walking speed also depends on your fitness level, the type of terrain, and how much effort you’re using.

• How fast should you walk a mile?

Depending on your age, the human walking speed will be different. Also, men and women have slightly different speeds of walking as men are more agile and durable.
Usually, an adult person of 30-39 years old walks 1.6 km distance with a walking speed of 1.34-1.43 meters per second. Younger people (20-29 years old) walk somewhat slower, about 1.36 meters per second.

How Fast Should I Walk a mile For My Age?

Many of those who have never walked cross-country often wonder how fast they need to walk a one-mile distance counting on their age.
Indeed, the personal time to cover a mile distance depends on how old we are. Nevertheless, the time difference between different age groups is not that significant.

The average mile time

• 20-29-year-old person to walk a mile is about fifteen minutes.
• 30-39-year-old person will walk the same distance for twenty minutes
• 40-49-year-old man or woman will walk a mile for twenty-five or thirty minutes.

Everything also depends on the nuances of the route.

How Long Does It Take to Walk a Mile?

Tips to Improve Walking Speed and Endurance

Improving your walking speed and endurance can help you greatly with your overall fitness. Here are practical strategies to help you achieve this:

• Interval Training: Introduce a couple of brisk walking periods, then slower paces. It raises the level of fitness for your heart and improves stamina. For example, walk fast for 3 minutes, and then light pace for 2 minutes, and repeat. 
• Strength Training: Work with exercises that work up your core and lower body such as squats and lunges. The more support a more powerful stride has the stronger musculature will support the more power and endurance. 
• Proper Walking Posture: Keep your shoulders relaxed and chin to chest, then keep your core engaged. Propel yourself forward very efficiently by naturally swinging your arms. The technique decreases fatigue and improves the walking posture. 
• Consistent Practice: It is important to go for regular walking sessions. Increase your walking slowly over time, increasing duration and intensity. Try to get at least 150 minutes of moderate-pace walking every week. 

Adequate Rest and Recovery: Get your body enough time to rest between intensely walking sessions so you don’t overtrain and get injured. Also rest days and listen to your body.

The average walking speed

• 1.34 meters per second for 20-29-year-old ones,
• 1.34 to 1.43 meters per second for 30-39-year-old ones,
• 1.39 to 1.43 meters per second for 40-49-year-old ones.

Frequently Asked Questions

All that you have already learned is more than enough for regular walking on a daily basis. But what if you would like to extend the distance? How much effort will you need then? How fast will you have to walk?
To find it out, check the questions-and-answers list that we have prepared exactly for such a case!

How much time does it take to walk 5.4 km?

For a healthy adult person aged 20-39, walking three miles will normally take one hour.

What is the common walking time for a mile?

A grown-up man or woman with good health normally spends 15-20 minutes to walk 1.6 km at a moderate pace.

How much time does it take to walk 11 miles?

When walking at an average pace, an adult man or woman will spend approximately three and a half hours to walk eleven miles.

How extended is a mile in minutes?

One mile is equivalent to twenty minutes’ walk for a grown-up person.

How much is half a mile in minutes?

Half a mile can be walked for ten minutes by an adult healthy person.

How much time does it take to walk 5 miles at a moderate pace?

Five miles can be walked in one hour and twenty minutes if we define walk of an adult person walking at an average walking pace.

How long does it take to walk eight miles?

On the average pace, an adult can cover eight miles for two hours and forty minutes if moving non-stop without any serious barriers on the way. A child will walk slower whereas an older person may also cover this distance not so fast.

How many minutes does it take to walk a mile?

An adult person will cover one-mile distance for twenty minutes if he or she walks on the plain land on an average walking pace.

How long does it take to walk half a mile?

Since one-mile distance can be covered for twenty minutes by an adult, half of this distance will take you something like ten or maybe fifteen minutes to walk it.

Take Care of Yourself!

No matter what kind of training you choose in the end, be sure to check your health state before you start going to the gym or doing regular exercises, especially if you are going to train at home on your own.

Improper or too intensive physical activity may have a completely different result from the one that was desired. If we load ourselves with excess training, it may result in health problems later, and it is not only about the injured muscles.

So, even if your health is absolutely fine, we would recommend you to train under the professional trainer supervision and do it in a gym if you are planning to achieve some significant results and not just go for a run in the evening now and then.

But of course, simple regular training like walking or running (even if done without the supervision) will significantly improve your health and state of the body and will make your figure more slender.

Don’t Forget About Diet

Pay attention to the diet, too, and include as many fresh and healthy products into it as you can since they will help your body to receive all the useful elements to keep it active.

Reduce the number of pure sugars since they are useless and will only block your blood vessels. Instead, consume more fresh fruits and berries that are the natural source of fructose and thus sugar.

Remember that your health depends on how you treat your body and how well you are taking care of it. Regular and medium physical training, fresh and healthy food, enough clean water to drink – all these things will help you not only to become slim and fit but they will also tune your body to healthier eating and living.