How many miles are there in a 5K, 10K, marathon or half marathon race or walk? How long does it take to walk those distances at a fast pace, a moderate pace, or an easy pace? Here are the basics for these common race distances:

• Kilometer: A kilometer is 0.62 miles, 3281.5 feet, or 1000 meters.
• Mile: A mile is 1.61 kilometers or 5280 feet.
• 3K: 3 kilometers equals 1.85 miles, 9842.5 feet, or just a little less than 2 miles. This is a common distance for charity walks, especially those with accessible routes.

• 5K: 5 kilometers equals 3.1 miles. This is a common race distance for charity walks and fun runs.
• 10K: 10 kilometers equals 6.2 miles. This is a common distance for fun runs, which may or may not be walker-friendly.
• Half-Marathon: 13.1 miles or 21 kilometers.
• Marathon: 26.2 miles or 42 kilometers.
• Ultramarathon: These races can be any distance above 42 kilometers or 26 miles. The most common distances for these events are 50 kilometers (31 miles) 100 kilometers (62 miles), 50 miles (80.5 kilometers), and 100 miles (161 kilometers).

How Long Will It Take to Walk Miles and Kilometers at Different Paces?

The charts below will help you to translate walking event distances into time, kilometers, and miles at various fitness-walking paces:

• Fast: 7 minutes per kilometer or 11 minutes per mile.
• Moderate: 10 minutes per kilometer or 15 minutes per mile.
• Easy: 12.5 minutes per kilometer or 20 minutes per mile.

• How to Measure Your Walking Speed: How can you know how fast you are walking so you know whether you have a fast, moderate, or easy pace? There are several ways to measure or calculate it, including phone apps and GPS watches, as well as low-tech options using a known distance (such as around a running track) and a stopwatch.

• Miles to Kilometers and Kilometers to Miles Calculator: Enter miles to convert them to kilometers or kilometers to convert to miles and see a predicted walking time.

Kilometer Chart
How Far in Miles and How Long to Walk at Various Paces

Miles Chart
How Far in Kilometers and the Time to Walk at Various Paces

With these charts, you should be able to do a rough estimate of how long it will take you to walk a given distance at a fitness walking pace without making stops. You’ll have to add in more time if you have to wait at intersections for the crossing signal, make rest stops, stop to take photos, play Pokemon Go, etc.

Distance, Pacing, and Finishing Time for Organized Walks

You can also see how to measure or calculate your pace to find your time and distance at different paces beyond these rules of thumb.

If you are entering an organized race or event with a finish cutoff time, use these methods to predict your finish time.

It’s important that you only enter events that you know you can complete under the time limit. It’s also good to know when to meet your family and friends who came to cheer you on or catch a ride back home.

Training to Walk Different Distances

You may wonder whether you need to train to walk these distance. It’s always a good idea to build up your walking time steadily from shorter to longer distances. You should learn how far a healthy person can walk with no training, plus how far can you walk in eight hours if you’re a trained walker.

By steadily adding a longer walk each week, you will build your muscles and stamina. You will also toughen the skin on your feet, which helps prevent blisters. Start with the distance you are able to walk comfortably. Add a mile to that distance each week, which will be between 15 and 20 more minutes of steady walking. Try a 30-day quick start walking plan to begin building your walking mileage, whether you just want to walk a mile or you want to enjoy a 5-kilometer charity walk, or even begin training for a half marathon or marathon.