How to Calculate Miles per Hour for Walking

Walking is a healthful way to step up your exercise program. But how can you know how fast you are walking? Just how brisk is your 20-minute stroll or hourlong walk? With a good watch, a pedometer, a measuring tape and a calculator, you can easily determine how many miles you walk per hour.

Things You'll Need

  • walking shoes
  • pedometer
  • watch
  • measuring tape
  • calculator
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Instructions

  1. Calculating Miles per Hour

    • 1

      Extend a measuring tape along the floor. Take at least five normal steps, then record the distance in feet you walked. Divide this distance by the number of steps you took. This is your average stride length.

    • 2

      Go for a walk. Wear a pedometer and set it as soon as you begin. You can walk a trail that has mile markers or follow a path that is a specific distance.

    • 3

      Check the time when you start and write it down. Or use a stopwatch to record when you begin..

    • 4

      Stop walking. Stop your stopwatch and your pedometer, and write down their readings. If you are using a regular watch and a trail with mile markers, record your finishing time and the miles marked at your finishing point.

    • 5

      Subtract your start time from your finish time to calculate the time you spent walking (if you're not using a stopwatch). For example, if you began at 9 a.m. and finished at 10:30 a.m., subtract 9:00 from 10:30 for an answer of 90 minutes spent walking.

    • 6

      Multiply your final pedometer reading by your stride length in feet to determine the distance you have walked. Divide this number by the number of feet in a mile (5,280), and you have how many miles you have walked.

    • 7

      Divide the number of miles you walked by the time you spent walking. For example, if you walked 3 miles in one and half hours, divide 3 by 1.5 for a walking speed of 2 miles per hour.