How long to walk 5 miles depends on your pace, age, and fitness level — most people take between 1 hour 15 minutes and 1 hour 45 minutes. Below you’ll find average 5-mile walking times broken down by age and sex, plus tips to improve your pace.
But how long does it take to walk 5 miles? What is the average time to walk 5 miles by age and sex? How can you walk 5 miles faster?
In this article, we will look at how long it takes to walk 5 miles at different walking speeds and the average 5 mile walk time by age and sex.
We will cover:
- How Far Is 5 Miles?
- How Long Does It Take to Walk 5 Miles?
- How Long Does It Take to Walk 5 Miles At Different Walking Speeds?
- 3 Tips for How to Walk 5 Miles Faster
Let’s get started!
The Honest Truth: A 5-Mile Walk Takes 60–120 Minutes, And Which End You Land On Is 80% Physiology, Not Effort
Plug “how long does it take to walk 5 miles” into any calculator and you get a neat answer: about 1 hour 15 minutes at a brisk 4 mph pace. The problem is that almost nobody actually walks at a flat 4 mph — preferred walking speed is set by a surprisingly rigid tradeoff between stride length, cadence, and metabolic economy, and that individual number varies by ±25% across adults even before you add hills, age, shoes, or a backpack. Here is what the biomechanics and gait-speed literature actually says about why the same 5 miles can take one person 65 minutes and another person almost two hours.
Preferred Walking Speed Is Physiology, Not Willpower
When you walk without thinking about speed, you naturally lock onto the pace that burns the fewest calories per meter. Browning and Kram measured this in treadmill studies and showed that healthy adults unconsciously self-select a walking speed that sits at the bottom of their energy-cost-per-distance curve — typically 1.2–1.4 metres per second, or roughly 2.7–3.1 mph — because walking faster or slower than that sweet spot makes every metre more expensive.1Browning RC, Kram R. Energetic cost and preferred speed of walking in obese vs. normal weight women. Obesity Research. 2005;13(5):891–899. Ralston had shown the same U-shaped curve decades earlier, and work by Waters and Mulroy on normal and pathological gait confirms that each person carries an individually optimised speed that stays remarkably stable across weeks.2Waters RL, Mulroy S. The energy expenditure of normal and pathologic gait. Gait & Posture. 1999;9(3):207–231. That is why forcing yourself to “walk 5 miles at 4 mph” feels like exercise — because it is, for most adults, about 20–25% faster than the economical pace. Sustained brisk walking is closer to 60–70% of VO2max for an average 45-year-old, which is roughly the same relative intensity as a light jog.
Gait Speed Falls ~1% Per Year After 60 — And Predicts Mortality
Age matters more than almost any other variable. Bohannon compiled normative comfortable-gait-speed data across decades of studies and showed average walking speed falls from about 1.34 m/s (3.0 mph) in men in their 20s to about 0.97 m/s (2.2 mph) in men in their 80s, with similar drops in women.3Bohannon RW, Williams Andrews A. Normal walking speed: A descriptive meta-analysis. Physiotherapy. 2011;97(3):182–189. In practical terms, a 75-year-old at comfortable pace takes around 2 hours 20 minutes to cover 5 miles, versus just over an hour for a 25-year-old at the same effort level — and Studenski and colleagues showed in a pooled analysis of 34,485 community-dwelling older adults that every 0.1 m/s drop in gait speed was associated with measurable increases in 10-year mortality, making gait speed a validated prognostic marker in its own right.4Studenski S, Perera S, Patel K, Rosano C, Faulkner K, Inzitari M, Brach J, Chandler J, Cawthon P, Connor EB, et al. Gait speed and survival in older adults. JAMA. 2011;305(1):50–58. So when a chart says “5 miles = 75 minutes,” it is actually showing 25-to-45-year-old physiology. Apply it to anyone significantly older or younger and the number drifts.
Grade, Surface, And Load Can Add 20+ Minutes To The Same 5 Miles
Terrain is the second big lever. Minetti and colleagues measured oxygen cost across a range of positive and negative gradients and found the metabolic cost of walking roughly doubles at a 10% uphill grade and is lowest at about a –10% downhill grade — and any deviation from flat ground forces you to slow down to stay at the same cardiovascular intensity.5Minetti AE, Moia C, Roi GS, Susta D, Ferretti G. Energy cost of walking and running at extreme uphill and downhill slopes. Journal of Applied Physiology. 2002;93(3):1039–1046. Pandolf, Givoni, and Goldman built the US Army load-carriage equation that is still used to predict walking energy cost on the basis of pack weight, grade, surface, and speed, and it shows that adding a 15-pound pack alone slows comfortable pace by roughly 5–8%, while walking on loose sand or soft snow can slow you by 25–40% vs. a paved path at the same effort.6Pandolf KB, Givoni B, Goldman RF. Predicting energy expenditure with loads while standing or walking very slowly. Journal of Applied Physiology. 1977;43(4):577–581. That means the honest answer to “how long will 5 miles take” on a hilly unpaved trail with a daypack is often 1h 45m to 2h 10m, not the 75-minute number you see quoted for flat-pavement chart values.
When A Flat-Pavement 5-Mile Estimate Is Still Useful
None of the variability above means the single number is useless — it means you should treat it as a reference pace rather than a universal answer. The chart number is still the right tool when you need (1) a quick sanity check for a flat commute or errand walk, (2) a planning estimate for a charity or fundraiser walk on a known paved course, (3) a within-subject progression benchmark where you compare your own time across weeks with terrain held constant, or (4) a starting value to tune by subtracting ~5–10% per decade above 40 or adding ~15–25% for hills and rough ground. If you want a more accurate personal estimate before the walk, time yourself over a flat measured mile at comfortable pace and multiply by five — that single real data point beats any generic chart. And if you want to build sustainable walking speed rather than just brute-force one 5-mile effort, the biomechanics work above all points in the same direction: short, consistent daily walks raise your economical speed far more reliably than one heroic weekend push, and pairing them with some easy step-count volume gives your legs the mitochondrial base to walk further without slowing down.
How Far Is 5 Miles?
It may sound like a silly question, but for those unfamiliar with the Imperial measuring system, a mile is the equivalent of 5,280 feet or 1,609 meters, so 5 miles is just a hair over 8 kilometers.
If you decide to walk 5 miles on a standard 400-meter running track, you will need to walk just over 20 full laps.
Alternatively, if you want to walk 5 miles in a city, it is roughly 100 blocks. Although the lengths a city block can vary from place to place and block to block somewhat, one mile is typically around 20 city blocks.
How Long Does It Take to Walk 5 Miles?
The time it will take you to walk five miles depends on the speed at which you are walking. With that said, most people can walk 5 miles in 75-100 minutes or so.
Walking speed is determined by factors like your age, sex, fitness level, effort level, as well as the terrain, incline, and weather conditions.
According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the average walking speed for adults is between 2.5-4 miles per hour.
Therefore, on the slow end of the spectrum at a speed of 2.5 miles per hour, it would take 2 hours (120 minutes) to walk 5 miles.
For most people, this is an easy, conversational walking pace.
On the fast end of the range, if you are walking at a brisk speed of 4.0 miles per hour, it will take just 1 hour and 15 minutes (75 minutes) to walk 5 miles.
One study of 997 middle-aged walkers (aged 45 years old) found that the average walking speeds were 1.30 m/s for usual walking gait and 1.99 m/s for maximum gait.
If we convert these walking speeds into mile walking time values using the conversion of 1,609 meters per mile, the average “usual” walking speed works out to walking one mile in 20.6 minutes while walking a mile at the average maximum walking speed would take 13.48 minutes.
Then, extrapolating these paces out for five miles, this data suggests that the average middle-aged walker can walk 5 miles at the usual walking gait in 103 minutes (1 hour and 43 minutes) and potentially as fast as 67.5 minutes at a maximum speed.
These times assume that the walking pace would not slow down as the distance increases.
Another study took a closer look at the average walking speed based on age and sex.
According to the data, the researchers reported the following walking speeds:
| Age | Average Walking Speed for Women (mph) | Average Walking Speed for Men (mph) |
| 20-29 | 3.0 | 3.4 |
| 30-39 | 3.0 | 3.2 |
| 40-49 | 3.11 | 3.2 |
| 50-59 | 2.93 | 3.2 |
| 60-69 | 2.77 | 3.0 |
| 70-79 | 2.53 | 2.82 |
| 80-89 | 2.1 | 2.17 |
Based on these walking speeds, we can calculate how long it takes to walk 5 miles based on age and sex, as shown below:
| Age | How Long Does It Take to Walk 5 Miles for Women? (hours: minutes : seconds) | How Long Does It Take to Walk 5 Miles for Men? (minutes : seconds) |
| 20-29 | 100 minutes (1 hour, 40 minutes) | 88.3 minutes (1 hour, 28 minutes, 20 seconds) |
| 30-39 | 100 minutes (1 hour, 40 minutes) | 93.75 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes, 45 seconds) |
| 40-49 | 96.4 minutes (1 hour, 36 minutes, 22 seconds) | 93.75 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes, 45 seconds) |
| 50-59 | 102.5 minutes (1 hour, 40 minutes, 30 seconds) | 93.75 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes, 45 seconds) |
| 60-69 | 108.3 minutes (1 hour, 38 minutes, 20 seconds) | 100 minutes (1 hour, 40 minutes) |
| 70-79 | 118.6 minutes (1 hour, 58 minutes, 40 seconds) | 107.5 minutes (1 hour, 47 minutes, 30 seconds) |
| 80-89 | 142.5 minutes (2 hours, 22 minutes, 30 seconds) | 138.3 minutes (1 hour, 18 minutes, 20 seconds) |
How Long Does It Take to Walk 5 Miles At Different Walking Speeds?
As mentioned, how long it takes you to walk 5 miles is entirely dependent on your walking speed or pace. The table below shows how long it takes to walk 5 miles at different walking paces.
The first column shows walking speed. This will likely not be helpful unless you are walking on a treadmill that shows your speed.
The second column displays your walking pace—how long it takes you to walk one mile at the speed you are walking.
The third column shows how long it takes to walk 5 miles if you maintain that walking pace.
| Walking Speed (mph) | Walking Pace (min/mile) | How Long Does It Take to Walk 5 Miles? (hour : min : sec) |
| 2.8 | 21:26 | 1:47:12 |
| 3 | 20:00 | 1:40:00 |
| 3.1 | 19:21 | 1:36:42 |
| 3.2 | 18:45 | 1:33:45 |
| 3.3 | 18:10 | 1:30:51 |
| 3.4 | 17:38 | 1:28:15 |
| 3.5 | 17:08 | 1:25:42 |
| 3.6 | 16:40 | 1:23:22 |
| 3.7 | 16:12 | 1:21:06 |
| 3.8 | 15:47 | 1:18:54 |
| 3.9 | 15:23 | 1:16:45 |
| 4 | 15:00 | 1:15:00 |
| 4.1 | 14:38 | 1:13:12 |
| 4.2 | 14:17 | 1:11:24 |
| 4.3 | 13:57 | 1:09:45 |
| 4.4 | 13:38 | 1:08:12 |
| 4.5 | 13:20 | 1:16:39 |
| 4.6 | 13:02 | 1:05:15 |
| 4.7 | 12:45 | 1:03:45 |
| 4.8 | 12:30 | 1:02:30 |
| 4.9 | 12:14 | 1:01:10 |
| 5 | 12:00 | 1:00:00 |
3 Tips for How to Walk 5 Miles Faster
Even if it currently takes you a lot longer to walk 5 miles than age- and sex-matched peers, it is definitely possible to train to increase your walking speed.
Training to walk 5 miles faster will help you be more efficient with your workouts, saving time. Plus, the faster you walk, the more calories you burn per minute.
Here are some tips that will help you walk 5 miles faster:
#1: Build Your Endurance
The single best way to walk 5 miles faster than you are currently walking is to walk more and improve your fitness.
Walking 5 miles is ultimately an endurance exercise, because even the fastest walkers are out there walking for over an hour.
Build up your endurance by gradually increasing the length of at least one walk per week so that it is longer than 5 miles.
Additionally, increasing the frequency of your walking workouts during the week will help you build the cardiovascular and muscular endurance necessary to walk 5 miles more easily.
#2: Work On Your Speed
In addition to doing steady-state aerobic distance walks, you can also do walking workouts to improve your speed.
Throwing in intervals of brisk walking or walking quickly uphill can build cardiovascular endurance, aerobic capacity, and leg strength.
#3: Use Good Walking Form
If you can improve your walking form, you might be able to cover ground more quickly and with more ease.
Make sure that you are walking with good upright posture. Your core should be tight and engaged, your chest should be up and proud, and your shoulders should be relaxed and down away from your ears.
Walk with purpose. Keep your gaze forward and vigorously pump your arms to help provide forward momentum to your walking gait.
Walking 5 miles is an excellent aerobic workout, and although it is a bit of an investment in time, a 5-mile walk is also a valuable investment in your physical and mental health. Enjoy your walk!
If you have been walking for a while now and would like to bump up the intensity, try training for your first 5k run! We have excellent Couch To 5k Training Plans to get your there.
