Walking vs Running: Which Burns More Calories Per Mile?
Running burns more calories per MINUTE, but per MILE the difference is smaller than you think.
Running a mile burns approximately 100 calories (varies by weight and pace). Walking a mile burns approximately 70 calories. Per mile, running burns only 30% more than walking — not the 2-3x difference most people assume. The major difference is time: running a mile takes 8-12 minutes versus 15-20 minutes walking.
Calories Per Minute vs Per Mile
Running at 10 min/mile: 10 cal/min, 100 cal/mile. Walking at 17 min/mile: 4.1 cal/min, 70 cal/mile. Per minute, running burns 2.4x more. Per mile, only 1.4x more. If you have the TIME, walking 5 miles burns nearly as many calories as running 3.5 miles — with far less joint stress and injury risk.
The Best Strategy
If you are short on time: run (more calories per minute). If you have time and want to minimize injury risk: walk longer distances. If you want the best of both: run/walk intervals (jog 2 minutes, walk 1 minute, repeat). This approach burns nearly as many calories as continuous running with significantly lower injury rates.