Distances are calculated based on a figure of 115 calories burned per mile of running at a 10:00 minute/mile pace.
It is commonly believed that walking and running one mile burn the same number of calories. After all, whether you are walking or running, you are moving the same amount of body weight over the same amount of distance. However, recent research has shown that running actually burns 50% more calories than walking per mile.
The process of walking allows you to keep your legs straight, spreading your center of gravity consistently throughout the top of your legs. Running, however, requires you to jump off from one foot to the other, raising and lowering your center of gravity as you absorb the shock by bending your knees. This continuous rise and fall of weight must be balanced by Newtonian force which requires more energy and allows you to burn more calories.
The difference becomes even greater when you consider the effect of "after burn." After you are finished exercising, your body continues burning calories at an increased rate until it returns to its basal metabolic rate. On average, a person running a 10 minute mile will have an additional 46 calories of "after burn" (as opposed to 21 calories after walking). Note: these numbers were note factored into the statistics above.
