How high is the calorie consumption when running?

Running is one of the most efficient sports of all.

This is because there is hardly any other sport in which so many calories are burned as in running. While more intense sports, such as boxing or downhill skiing, burn more calories at the time of the activity than running, such high-intensity sports can't be done for nearly as long as running. A World Cup skier is usually on the slope for less than two minutes before reaching the finish line, whereas a marathon runner needs at least two hours (except for Eliud Kipchoge).

Factors influencing calorie consumption during running

How high the calorie consumption actually is while running depends on various factors. These include age, gender, intensity (i.e. pace), duration, body weight and other individual factors. This means that an exact calculation of calorie consumption while running is not possible without a sports medical examination. Even running watches cannot calculate the calorie consumption while running exactly, but can only estimate it based on the available data, such as body weight, pace, heart rate and length of the running session.

Calculation of calorie consumption while running

However, calorie consumption while running can also be calculated very realistically using a formula. The two most important criteria besides duration that influence calorie consumption while jogging are body weight and speed, i.e. pace.

The following tables can be used to easily determine the calorie consumption while running. The starting point is always one hour of running time. If you run for 30 minutes, you have to divide the value by 2.

Table 1: Body weight 50 - 70 kg

Choose the column that corresponds to your body weight and find the row that matches your running pace (pace in minutes per kilometer). You have the calorie consumption for one hour:

Table 2: Body weight 75 - 95 kg

Choose the column that corresponds to your body weight and find the row that matches your running pace (pace in minutes per kilometer). You have the calorie consumption for one hour:

Table 3: Body weight 100 - 150 kg

Choose the column that corresponds to your body weight and find the row that matches your running pace (pace in minutes per kilometer). You have the calorie consumption for one hour:

Note: The following formula was used to calculate the calorie consumption: Body weight * running distance * 0.95. With this formula you can calculate your calorie consumption very easily. Example: You weigh 77 kilograms and have run 7 kilometers: 77 * 7 * 0.95 = 512 consumed kcal (kilocalories).

We would like to point out once again that this calculation is only an estimate of calorie consumption, but it is not an exact result. However, the calculated values are usually close to the actual result.

Absolute and relative calorie consumption

The following two factors must be taken into account for calorie consumption. If, for example, we consume 700 kilocalories by running for one hour, this does not mean that we have consumed an additional 700 kcal. Because in the one hour we would have consumed calories even without sports activity. How high this consumption would be depends on the activity. If we sleep instead, the consumption would of course be very low, if we go for a walk, the difference with running would not be quite so high. Even if we do little exercise during the day, we consume about 2,000 to 3,000 kilocalories in 24 hours. So for this one-hour running session, we would have consumed 700 kilocalories, but "only" actually consumed about 600 kilocalories "extra".

In simplified terms, we can talk about absolute energy expenditure from running and relative energy expenditure from running. The absolute energy expenditure in the example would be 700 kcal, and the relative energy expenditure would be around 600 kcal.

Afterburn effect

However, now we come to the second factor, which is again positive. Thanks to the afterburn effect, we consume more calories after sporting activities than during previous inactivity. The reason is an increased stimulated or working metabolism, which provides for an increased consumption of calories. By the way, the afterburn effect is greater after intensive running units than after relaxed jogging units. That is, who trains harder, has more of it after running. On the other hand, the afterburn effect is weakened by a direct intake of carbohydrates after training. However, this is at least partly necessary after exercise, so that we can replenish the emptied energy depots in our body.

Basically, based on these two factors, we can say that the above values correspond to the actual additional calorie consumption through sports or running. The determined values are somewhat weakened by the fact that we would also have consumed calories during inactivity, but this weakening is relativized by the afterburn effect.

Effective calorie consumption during jogging

The classic thesis, which is regularly given to beginners, that slow running is more effective, is definitely wrong in terms of calorie consumption. Less intensive running does lead to the fact that one can maintain the sport activity longer, however, this is anyway necessary to achieve an approximately similar calorie consumption as with intensive running. That is why we should not only jog comfortably, but also integrate intensive running sessions into our daily training routine.

Using the example of a person weighing 80 kilograms, the calorie consumption at a pace of 7 minutes per kilometer would be around 650 kilocalories per hour; at 4:30 minutes per kilometer, it would be over 1,000 kilocalories in one hour. At a pace of 7 minutes per kilometer, this person would have to run for over an additional half hour to reach a value of over 1,000 kilocalories. That is, this person would have to run for an hour and a half instead of an hour to achieve the same caloric expenditure as at a pace of 4:30 minutes per kilometer.

Examples of high calorie consumption while running

Effective runs for high calorie burn include tempo runs, races, intervals, road games, hill runs, and other running sessions that provide a high heart rate. If you are training for a marathon, you will benefit from a high calorie consumption especially during long endurance runs (which are obligatory in marathon training anyway), but this is caused by the length of the run and not by the intensity.