Steps to km conversion
8,500 steps to km
8,500 steps is about 6.4 km for a woman of 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) and 6.7 km for a man of 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in), the average heights of young adults in the UK, at a normal walking pace (5.5 km/h). That is 1 h 10 min to 1 h 13 min of walking. The distance depends mainly on your height and speed: from 5.7 km to 7.6 km when walking, and 8.6 km to 9.0 km when running at 10 km/h. As a daily total, 8,500 steps put an adult in the “somewhat active” category.
Woman · 1.65 m
6.4 km
1 h 10 min of walking
Man · 1.78 m
6.7 km
1 h 13 min of walking
Average heights of young adults in the UK, walking at a normal pace of 5.5 km/h.
By height
8,500 steps in km by height
Distance covered at a normal walking pace (5.5 km/h). At the same height, women take slightly shorter steps than men.
| Height | Woman | Man |
|---|---|---|
| 1.50 m | 6.1 km | 6.2 km |
| 1.55 m | 6.2 km | 6.3 km |
| 1.60 m | 6.3 km | 6.4 km |
| 1.65 m | 6.4 km | 6.5 km |
| 1.70 m | 6.5 km | 6.6 km |
| 1.75 m | 6.5 km | 6.6 km |
| 1.78 m | 6.6 km | 6.7 km |
| 1.80 m | 6.6 km | 6.7 km |
| 1.85 m | 6.7 km | 6.8 km |
| 1.90 m | 6.8 km | 6.9 km |
| 1.95 m | 6.9 km | 7.0 km |
Highlighted: average height of young adults in the UK.
By pace
8,500 steps walking or running
Distance and time for a woman of 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) and a man of 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in). The faster you go, the longer each step, so the same number of steps covers more ground.
| Pace | Woman1.65 m | Man1.78 m |
|---|---|---|
| Relaxed walk4.8 km/h | 5.9 km1 h 14 | 6.2 km1 h 18 |
| Normal walk5.5 km/h | 6.4 km1 h 10 | 6.7 km1 h 13 |
| Brisk walk6.4 km/h | 6.9 km1 h 04 | 7.3 km1 h 08 |
| Jogging8 km/h | 7.1 km53 min | 7.3 km55 min |
| Running10 km/h | 8.6 km52 min | 9.0 km54 min |
| Fast running12 km/h | 10.0 km50 min | 10.6 km53 min |
Activity level
Is 8,500 steps a day enough?
With 8,500 steps a day, an adult falls into the “Somewhat active” category of the scale proposed by Tudor-Locke and colleagues (2011). It takes another 1,500 steps to reach the “Active” level, roughly 13 min more walking.
That is within the range of 8,000 to 10,000 steps where the risk of death levelled off for adults under 60, in the meta-analysis by Paluch and colleagues (2022, 47,471 adults). For people aged 60 and over, the plateau was reached earlier, at around 6,000 to 8,000 steps.
These benchmarks describe averages observed in large studies, not a personal target. Talk to a health professional about your activity goals.
- SedentaryUnder 5,000
- Low active5,000 to 7,499
- Somewhat active7,500 to 9,999You are here
- Active10,000 to 12,499
- Highly active12,500 and more
Calories
How many calories do 8,500 steps burn?
Estimate at a normal walking pace (5.5 km/h) for a woman of 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) and a man of 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in), based on the MET values of the Compendium of Physical Activities. Weight matters far more than height.
| Weight | Woman1.65 m | Man1.78 m |
|---|---|---|
| 50 kg | 230 kcal | 240 kcal |
| 60 kg | 280 kcal | 290 kcal |
| 70 kg | 320 kcal | 340 kcal |
| 80 kg | 370 kcal | 390 kcal |
| 90 kg | 420 kcal | 440 kcal |
| 100 kg | 460 kcal | 490 kcal |
Key distances
From 8,500 steps to a marathon
Walking steps needed for the reference distances at 5.5 km/h, for a woman of 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) and a man of 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in), and how many remain after 8,500 steps.
| Distance | Woman1.65 m | Man1.78 m |
|---|---|---|
| 5 km | 6,670reached | 6,340reached |
| 10 km | 13,3404,840 to go | 12,6804,180 to go |
| Half marathon | 28,13019,630 to go | 26,76018,260 to go |
| Marathon | 56,27047,770 to go | 53,51045,010 to go |
Your personal result
Calculate 8,500 steps for your height
The calculator is already set to 8,500 steps. Enter your height, sex and pace to get your own distance, time and calories.
Steps → km
Km → steps
Only used for the calorie estimate.
Distance covered
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Enter your number of steps to see the distance.
Steps per km
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Step length
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Time
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Calories
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Step length is estimated from your height, sex and pace with the equations published by Hoeger and colleagues in ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal (2008), which measured the number of steps needed to cover one mile at six walking and running speeds. Calories use the MET values of the Compendium of Physical Activities. Both are listed in the sources at the bottom of the page. Results are estimates: terrain, shoes, fatigue and your own way of walking all change your step length.
Method
How these figures are calculated
Distance is the number of steps multiplied by the length of one step. At 5.5 km/h, one step covers about 75.0 cm for a woman of 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) and 78.9 cm for a man of 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in). 8,500 × 75.0 cm ≈ 6.4 km, and 8,500 × 78.9 cm ≈ 6.7 km.
Step length comes from the equations published in 2008 by Hoeger and colleagues in ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal, derived from adults who walked and ran on a treadmill at six speeds. It increases with height and with speed.
The reference heights are the average heights of young adults in the UK published by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration in the journal eLife (2016), rounded up to the nearest centimetre. Feet and inches are rounded to the nearest inch.
Frequently asked questions
8,500 steps: your questions answered
About 6.4 km for a woman of 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) and 6.7 km for a man of 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in), at a normal walking pace (5.5 km/h). At a brisk pace (6.4 km/h), the distance rises to 6.9 km and 7.3 km. For your own height, use the table or the calculator.
About 4.0 miles for a woman of 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) and 4.2 miles for a man of 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in), at a normal walking pace (5.5 km/h), that is 6.4 km and 6.7 km.
About 1 h 10 min to 1 h 13 min at a normal pace (5.5 km/h), and 1 h 04 min to 1 h 08 min at a brisk pace (6.4 km/h), for a woman of 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) and a man of 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in).
About 8.6 km for a woman of 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) and 9.0 km for a man of 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) at 10 km/h, in 52 min to 54 min. When running, one step is about 106 cm for a man of 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in), compared with 79 cm when walking.
About 280 kcal for a woman of 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) weighing 60 kg and 390 kcal for a man of 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) weighing 80 kg, at a normal pace. These estimates use the MET value of 3.8 for moderate walking from the Compendium of Physical Activities.
Other conversions
Other step counts in km
- 1,000 steps
- 1,500 steps
- 2,000 steps
- 2,500 steps
- 3,000 steps
- 3,500 steps
- 4,000 steps
- 4,500 steps
- 5,000 steps
- 5,500 steps
- 6,000 steps
- 6,500 steps
- 7,000 steps
- 7,500 steps
- 8,000 steps
- 8,500 steps
- 9,000 steps
- 9,500 steps
- 10,000 steps
- 10,500 steps
- 11,000 steps
- 11,500 steps
- 12,000 steps
- 12,500 steps
- 13,000 steps
- 13,500 steps
- 14,000 steps
- 14,500 steps
- 15,000 steps
- 15,500 steps
- 16,000 steps
- 16,500 steps
- 17,000 steps
- 17,500 steps
- 18,000 steps
- 18,500 steps
- 19,000 steps
- 19,500 steps
- 20,000 steps
- 25,000 steps
- 30,000 steps
Sources
The research behind these figures
- Hoeger et al., One-Mile Step Count at Walking and Running Speeds, ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal (2008)
- Paluch et al., Daily steps and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis of 15 international cohorts, The Lancet Public Health (2022)
- Banach et al., The association between daily step count and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, European Journal of Preventive Cardiology (2023)
- Tudor-Locke et al., How many steps/day are enough? For adults, IJBNPA (2011)
- Compendium of Physical Activities (MET values used for the calorie estimate)
- NCD Risk Factor Collaboration, A century of trends in adult human height, eLife (2016)
Estimates for information only, not medical advice.