How many miles is a 5k?
A 5k is 3.1 miles, or exactly 5,000 metres. It is the shortest standard road race, the distance of every parkrun, and the one most people walk before they ever run it. Here is what it is in steps, minutes and calories.
The numbers
5.0 km · 3.1 miles, in steps
| A child, 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) | about 10,100 steps |
| 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in) | about 7,500 steps |
| 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in), the average adult | about 7,100 steps |
| 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) | about 6,700 steps |
| 1.9 m (6 ft 3 in) | about 6,400 steps |
| A giraffe, 5.5 m (18 ft) | no idea, sorry |
Step length is about 41% of height. Give or take 10% for how you walk.
How long it takes to walk
| A stroll, 4 km/h | 1 h 15 min |
| A normal walk, 5 km/h | 1 h |
| A brisk walk, 6 km/h | 50 min |
Walking without stops, on level ground.
Calories, by body weight
| 55 kg (121 lb) | about 175 kcal (233 incl. resting) |
| 70 kg (154 lb) | about 223 kcal (297 incl. resting) |
| 85 kg (187 lb) | about 271 kcal (360 incl. resting) |
| 100 kg (220 lb) | about 319 kcal (424 incl. resting) |
The walk's own cost at 5 km/h. The second number adds what you would have burned sitting still, which is what some fitness trackers show.
Steps by height: How many steps is 5 km?
Try your own distance
Steps
about 7,100
6,400 to 7,800 depending on your stride, about 0.70 m a step at this height.
Distance
5.0 km · 3.1 miles
Time on foot
1 h
at 5 km/h, no stops
Calories
Depends on your weight more than anything else. Enter it to see an estimate.
That is 1/12 of the way to Everest Base Camp.
How many steps is a 5k?
About 7,100 steps for an adult of average height, from roughly 7,500 at 1.6 m to 6,400 at 1.9 m, because a walking step is about 41% of your height and a 1.7 m adult covers about 0.70 m a step. Your own count can sit 10% either side of the figure for your height.
How many calories does walking a 5k burn?
About 225 kcal for a 70 kg (154 lb) adult at a normal pace, from roughly 175 kcal at 55 kg (121 lb) to 320 kcal at 100 kg (220 lb). Body weight decides most of it. That is the walk’s own cost above sitting still. Some fitness trackers report the total including what you would have burned anyway, which comes out about a third higher. The figures come from a model of walking energy cost built on height, weight and speed, tested within a few percent of measured values across body sizes.
What a 5k is
Five kilometres, exactly 5,000 metres, which is 3.107 miles. Road race distances are set in kilometres by World Athletics, so the mile figures are always awkward: 3.1, 6.2, 13.1, 26.2. The 5k is the shortest of the standard distances and by far the most run. It is also the distance of parkrun, the free, timed, volunteer-run event held every Saturday morning at more than 3,000 places in 25 countries, where walkers are welcome, there is no time limit, and, in their words, no one finishes last.
How long does it take to walk a 5k?
About an hour at a normal walking pace of 5 km/h, 50 minutes at a brisk 6 km/h, an hour and a quarter at a stroll. Walked at a parkrun you will finish behind the runners and in front of nobody, which is the point of it. A 5k on foot is a real outing and a modest one, which is why it is where most people start.
Walk the distance first
A race is a day. The way to be ready for it, and the way to enjoy the same distance without a start line, is to walk it in pieces on the days you already have. A 5k is 1/12 of the way to Everest Base Camp, and reTrek is built for exactly that: pick a route, Everest Base Camp is free, and your everyday steps carry you along it with a short film waiting at each milestone. Something to look forward to. Progress you can see.
Walk it with a friend and pool your steps, or race them there, and find out which of you skips fewer evenings.
Other race distances
Sources: Road running disciplines and standard distances, World Athletics · parkrun, free weekly 5k events open to walkers · Energy expenditure during level human walking, Ludlow and Weyand, Journal of Applied Physiology, 2016