The short answer
A 70 kg person running at a moderate 10.5 km/h pace burns roughly 370 calories in 30 minutes (MET 10.5). Lighter runners burn less, faster runners burn more. The chart and calculator below break it down by your exact weight, pace, and time.
Running is one of the most calorie-dense activities you can do, which is why it shows up in almost every weight-loss plan. But "calories burned running" is not a single number. It scales with three things: how much you weigh, how fast you run, and how long you keep going.
The science behind the numbers is the MET (metabolic equivalent). Each pace has a MET value from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, and the formula is simple: calories = MET x your weight in kilograms x hours. We did that math for every common weight and pace below.
How many calories does running burn?
Pick the row for your run time and the column for your weight. Easy is around 8 km/h, moderate around 10.5 km/h, and fast around 14 km/h. The harder you push, the higher the MET, and the more you burn for the same time.
Why your weight matters most
Running is a weight-bearing activity, so the heavier you are, the more energy it takes to move you the same distance. That is why every row in the table rises as you move right across the weight columns. A 100 kg runner burns roughly twice the calories of a 55 kg runner at the same pace and time, with no extra effort, simply because there is more mass to carry. This is also why two people on the same treadmill program lose weight at different rates.
Why pace changes the number
Faster running recruits more muscle and demands more oxygen per minute, which pushes the MET value up. The jump is not linear: going from an easy jog to a moderate pace adds a few METs, but sprinting can nearly double the rate. That said, most people burn more total calories over a run by going longer at a comfortable pace than by going all out and stopping early, because effort that high is hard to sustain.
How accurate are these numbers?
MET-based estimates are a solid baseline, but they are an average across many people. Your real burn shifts with fitness (a trained runner is more efficient and may burn slightly less at the same pace), terrain (hills and trails raise the cost), wind, heat, and running economy. Treat the chart as a close estimate, not a lab measurement. For tracking that actually moves the needle, consistency beats precision: logging every run roughly right tells you far more over a month than chasing a perfect single number.
Calories burned vs calories eaten
Knowing you burned 500 calories on a run is only half the picture. What you do with that number is what changes your weight or your performance. Eat too little after a hard session and recovery suffers; eat back every calorie and a fat-loss goal stalls. The useful move is to connect the burn to your intake for the day, which is exactly the gap a coach fills.
Log your runs without the math
Reading a chart is one thing. Tracking every run, day after day, is where most people give up. With CalAlly you say "I ran 5k this morning" and it logs the activity, estimates the burn, and folds it into your daily numbers. The built in AI nutrition coach then tells you what to eat to match your training, so the calories you burn actually serve your goal. See what CalAlly is, the best calorie tracker for runners, or our best calorie tracker apps roundup.
