Running Calorie Calculator
Running burns roughly twice as much per minute as brisk walking, at a considerably higher recovery cost.
Your results
Calorie burn figures come from metabolic equations fitted to groups. Individual variation is substantial — two people of the same weight doing the same session can differ by 15-20%. Wearables are not more accurate; they are frequently worse.
The equation, and the rule of thumb
The ACSM running equation:
VO₂ (ml/kg/min) = (0.2 × m/min) + (0.9 × m/min × grade) + 3.5
A useful consequence: the cost of running is close to 1 kcal per kg per kilometre, largely independent of pace. An 80 kg runner burns roughly 80 kcal per km whether that km takes four minutes or six.
Pace changes how long the session lasts, not much the cost per kilometre — which is why distance matters more than speed for total burn.
Gross versus net
Almost every calorie calculator reports gross burn — everything your body used during the session, including the resting metabolism you would have burned sitting on the sofa.
Net subtracts that resting cost. It is the genuinely extra energy the session cost you, and it is the number to use if you are adding exercise calories back into your intake. Using gross double-counts your resting metabolism, which is one of the most common reasons people eat back more than they burned.
For a 45-minute walk the difference is around 60 kcal. For a long session it is considerably more.
Running alongside lifting
Running is a genuine recovery cost, unlike walking. Practical points if you do both:
- Keep hard running away from leg days where you can, ideally by a day.
- Most of your running should be easy. Zone 2 work interferes far less with lifting than intervals do.
- Watch total load, not just training load. Adding 30 km a week of running to an existing lifting programme is a large increase in overall demand.
- Eat for it. Adding running to a deficit without adding food is how people end up under-recovered and losing muscle.
Common questions
How many calories does running 5 km burn?
Roughly your bodyweight in kg × 5 kcal — so about 400 kcal for an 80 kg runner, gross.
Does running faster burn more calories?
More per minute, but roughly the same per kilometre. Distance drives total burn.
Is running bad for building muscle?
Not at moderate volumes. Large amounts of hard running does compete with lifting for recovery.
Treadmill or outdoors?
Similar energetically at the same speed and gradient. Outdoors adds wind and terrain.
Related calculators
Track the numbers, not just calculate them
MyFitsy stores your weight, measurements and every session, so the figures above become a trend instead of a one-off.
