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Calculate calories burned running from distance, weight, pace and time — see calories, per km and per hour.
Calculate calories burned running from distance, weight, pace and time — see calories, per km and per hour.
Enter values above and click Calculate — results will appear here with the formula explained.
Running costs about 1 kcal per kilogram per kilometer — a remarkably pace-independent rule: 70 kg over 10 km burns ~700 kcal whether at 5:00 or 7:00/km. Multiply weight times distance and you're within 10% for most road running, which is why this single formula powers nearly every running app's estimate.
Pace matters less than intuition suggests: faster running costs slightly more per km (air drag, vertical oscillation) but finishes sooner, nearly canceling out. Hills break the rule hardest — a 5% grade roughly doubles per-km cost — followed by wind, soft surfaces (sand, snow) and poor economy in beginners, each adding 5–15%.
Gross versus net calories confuses diet tracking: gross (what this shows) includes resting metabolism you'd burn anyway (~1 kcal/kg/hour); net exercise calories subtract it. A 70 kg runner's 700 kcal hour includes ~70 resting — net 630. Apps mixing the two explain most 'my watch says 900' arguments.
Weight dominates everything: per-km cost scales linearly with mass, so a 90 kg runner burns ~29% more than a 70 kg runner over identical distance. Gear, hydration packs and winter layers count as mass. Conversely, fitness doesn't discount the physics — elites burn the same per km at a given weight, just faster.
For weight loss, pair the burn with intake honesty: 700 kcal is one large muffin, and 'earning' food with runs fails when appetite overcompensates (studies show 30–50% compensation). Running drives fitness and appetite regulation; the calorie deficit still comes mostly from the kitchen.
Calculate calories burned running from distance, weight, pace and time — see calories, per km and per hour. Formula: Calories ≈ 1 kcal/kg/km * weight * distance (running ~1, walking 0.5). Example: With 10 km at 70 kg: ~700 kcal gross.
Running costs about 1 kcal per kilogram per kilometer — a remarkably pace-independent rule: 70 kg over 10 km burns ~700 kcal whether at 5:00 or 7:00/km. Multiply weight times distance and you're within 10% for most road running, which is why this single formula powers nearly every running app's estimate.
Pace matters less than intuition suggests: faster running costs slightly more per km (air drag, vertical oscillation) but finishes sooner, nearly canceling out. Hills break the rule hardest — a 5% grade roughly doubles per-km cost — followed by wind, soft surfaces (sand, snow) and poor economy in beginners, each adding 5–15%.
Gross versus net calories confuses diet tracking: gross (what this shows) includes resting metabolism you'd burn anyway (~1 kcal/kg/hour); net exercise calories subtract it. A 70 kg runner's 700 kcal hour includes ~70 resting — net 630. Apps mixing the two explain most 'my watch says 900' arguments.
Weight dominates everything: per-km cost scales linearly with mass, so a 90 kg runner burns ~29% more than a 70 kg runner over identical distance. Gear, hydration packs and winter layers count as mass. Conversely, fitness doesn't discount the physics — elites burn the same per km at a given weight, just faster.
For weight loss, pair the burn with intake honesty: 700 kcal is one large muffin, and 'earning' food with runs fails when appetite overcompensates (studies show 30–50% compensation). Running drives fitness and appetite regulation; the calorie deficit still comes mostly from the kitchen.
With 10 km at 70 kg: ~700 kcal gross. At 5:30/km that's 55 minutes and ~763 kcal/hour. Net of resting (~64 kcal for the hour): ~636 exercise calories — the number that belongs in a diet log.
Formulas are standard public references (see our methodology). External standards are cited in the text where they apply.
Last reviewed: September 2026 · Report an error