Health⏱ 5 min read
How Many Calories Does Running Burn?
Running calorie burn depends on your weight, speed, and terrain. Here's the MET formula, a reference table, and how running compares to other cardio for energy expenditure.
Running is one of the highest calorie-burning activities available — but estimates from gym equipment and apps vary wildly. Here's the accurate formula and what the numbers actually mean for weight management.
The MET Formula
Calories per hour = MET x Weight (kg) x 1.0
Where MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) varies by running speed.
Example: 75kg runner, 10 km/h (6:00/km pace), MET = 10.0
= 10.0 x 75 = 750 calories/hour
= 75 calories per km (750 / 10 km)
MET Values by Running Pace
SpeedPace (min/km)METCal/hr (75kg)
6 km/h (jogging)10:00/km6.0450
8 km/h7:30/km8.3623
10 km/h6:00/km10.0750
12 km/h5:00/km11.8885
14 km/h4:17/km13.51,013
16 km/h3:45/km16.01,200
Calories Per Kilometre (More Useful for Runners)
Net calories per km (above resting metabolism):
Approximately 0.9 - 1.0 x body weight in kg (per km)
75kg runner: ~71 calories/km (net) regardless of pace
(gross: includes resting metabolic rate during the run)
This is why total weekly distance matters more than pace
for weight management purposes.
5km run (75kg runner): ~355 net calories
10km run: ~710 net calories
Half marathon: ~1,500 net calories
Effect of Body Weight
Weight5km run10km runHalf marathon
60 kg~285 cal~570 cal~1,200 cal
75 kg~355 cal~710 cal~1,500 cal
90 kg~425 cal~850 cal~1,800 cal
110 kg~520 cal~1,040 cal~2,200 cal
Hills Add Significant Calories
Hill running MET is approximately:
MET increase = 0.5 x gradient % per additional point
Running at 10 km/h on flat: MET 10.0
Running at 10 km/h on 5% incline: MET ~12.5 (+25%)
Running at 10 km/h on 10% incline: MET ~15.0 (+50%)
A hilly 5km run burns 30-50% more calories than a flat 5km.
The Post-Run EPOC Effect
After intense running, your body continues burning extra calories to recover — this is Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC). For moderate-intensity running it adds roughly 6-15% to total calorie burn over the following few hours. For high-intensity interval running, EPOC can be more significant. However, EPOC is often overstated in marketing — for most recreational runners it adds 50-150 extra calories per session, not "hundreds of extra calories for 24 hours."