There are different reasons for walking 9 miles a day. On a hiking or backpacking trip, it’s an easy target. Take your time and spread out the distance over the day.
If you’re walking 9 miles every day for fitness, it’s a completely different story. 9 miles is a lot. It’s going to take you almost 3 hours to walk. That’s a big commitment and it will also take a lot of strength and energy.
9 miles every day for a week or a month can be a way to get fit if you have a history of walking or running. I’ve used a similar approach to train for ultra races. If you’re new to walking, it’s best to build up your mileage gradually to avoid a risk of injury.
How Far Is 9 Miles?
9 miles is 15,840 yards or 14,484 meters – 14.5K.
How many steps in 9 miles?
If you prefer to count distance in steps using a pedometer or fitness tracker, the number of steps it takes to walk 9 miles will depend on fitness levels, average step length (stride length), and pace.
As a rough guide, walking 9 miles is equivalent to 18,000 to 21,600 steps.
How Long Does It Take To Walk 9 Miles?
Walking 9 miles every day may be too much for most people to fit into their busy lives. It may be better to walk 9 miles at weekends and walk shorter distances such as 5 miles a day during the week.
You can split the distance up into 3 shorter walks of 3 miles and take every opportunity to increase your step count.
If you’re completing the distance in one go, most people take 135 to 162 minutes to walk 9 miles on flat terrain – that’s up to 3 hours of walking every day.
This is walking at a brisk pace, 15 to 18 minutes per mile, or an average walking speed of just over 3 to 4 miles per hour (mph).
If you can power walk, you’ll cover the distance faster. At an extremely fast 5 mph walking pace it will take 108 minutes (1 hour 48 minutes) to complete 9 miles. But that’s fast!
The aim of walking for fitness is to walk at a brisk pace. Your heart rate will be elevated but you can still walk and talk. You’ll be making an effort to maintain your pace.
For most people, a brisk pace is 3.5 mph. Time yourself over a mile distance to get an idea of your walking pace.
The chart below shows how long it takes to walk 9 miles at different paces:
| Walking Speed (mph) | Walking Pace (min/mile) | Time Taken To Walk 9 Miles (hour: min) |
| 2.5 | 24.0 | 3:36 |
| 2.75 | 21.8 | 3:16 |
| 3.0 | 20.0 | 3:00 |
| 3.25 | 18.5 | 2:47 |
| 3.5 | 17.1 | 2:34 |
| 3.75 | 16.0 | 2:24 |
| 4.0 | 15.0 | 2:15 |
| 4.25 | 14.1 | 2:07 |
| 4.5 | 13.3 | 2:00 |
| 4.75 | 12.6 | 1:53 |
| 5.0 | 12.0 | 1:48 |
How Many Calories Burned Walking 9 Miles?
Walking 9 miles is terrific for burning calories. How many calories burned depends on your current body weight and walking speed but most people burn 80 to 100 calories per mile of walking.
That’s 720 to 900 calories for a 9-mile walk. If you’re walking uphill or power walking your calorie burn will be higher.
Use our Calories Burned Walking Calculator to get a more accurate figure for how many calories you burn on your walks.
If you’re walking long distances regularly, you’ll need to make sure you’re fueling your walks properly. You don’t want to run out of energy halfway around your walk or get run down because of the distance you’re walking every day.
Take a healthy snack with you and make sure you have enough water to stay fully hydrated. You may be walking to lose weight but you still need to make sure you’re refuelling with good nutritious food.
Fill up on lean protein, whole grains, vegetables, some fruit, and small amounts of healthy fats. Find out more with these tips for what to eat after walking for weight loss.
Walking 9 Miles A Day Results
Everyone has different reasons for walking long distances every day. For many people, it will be training for an ultra-distance event. Others will use this approach to get fit.
Here are some of the things that will happen to your body when you walk a long distance every day:
Lose weight
Unless you’re refueling excessively with the wrong food expect to lose weight. Losing weight will depend on your current body weight. If you’re already a healthy normal weight, your weight loss will be small.
Instead, you’ll find yourself looking leaner and stronger as you burn body fat and build strong leg and core muscles.
If you’re starting from a low fitness level with a lot of excess weight, your weight loss could be significant.
Expect to lose 2-3 pounds a week, possibly more, and 8 to 14 pounds a month walking 9 miles every day. But how much weight you lose will depend on your current body weight, exercise intensity, and how much you eat. Find out more about walking for weight loss and calorie intake.
Increase aerobic fitness
Walking 9 miles every day is intense exercise! Expect to improve your cardiovascular fitness. Keep it up for a month and you could be in the best shape of your life.
Improved muscle strength
Strong legs and killer abs are one of the benefits of long daily walks. If your walks are at a brisk pace that challenges your body and you can expect to see improvements in your body composition.
Just make sure you don’t sabotage all your hard work by eating a bad diet. Find out more about how to eat better and eat a balanced diet.
Physical And Mental Health Benefits Of Walking 9 Miles A Day
Walking comes with many health benefits such as:
- Protection against cardiovascular disease and stroke
- Lower risk of high cholesterol and Type 2 diabetes and lower blood pressure
- Reduced stress and anxiety
- Improved moods and sleep quality
- Improved bone strength and bone density
- Increased muscle mass
- Better balance
Find out more about the health benefits of walking. Walking is a great way to hit the recommended targets for moderate-intensity aerobic activity.
To reach targets for muscle-strengthening activities add 2 strength training sessions a week. These bodyweight exercises or yoga classes are ideal and a great help for preventing injuries.
How To Walk 9 Miles A Day
If you’re starting from a low fitness level, it’s unwise to jump straight in and start walking long distances. Follow these tips to build up your fitness:
#1 Get some walking shoes
You will need comfortable and supportive walking shoes or trainers and you will need to replace them regularly. Typically walking shoes need to be replaced every 500 miles, so even a good pair will need to be replaced every 2 months if you’re walking 9 miles a day.
Good shoes will help protect you against injury risk.
#2 Follow a walking program
Walking 9 miles isn’t for beginners. If you’re new to walking, follow a beginner walking plan and increase your daily miles slowly.
Start with 2 miles or 3 miles and work up to 9 miles over several weeks.
Our Fat Buster Walking Challenge builds up to walking 5 miles every day. Complete the 10-week challenge, then in the 11th week aim for 6 miles every day, and in the 12th week 7 miles every day.
By the 13th week, you can be walking 8 miles a day and after that, you’ll be good to go to 9 miles every day. Find out more about the Fat Buster Challenge and How Much Walking For Weight Loss.
#3 Take rest days
It’s going to be hard on your body walking long distances every day. To avoid burn out add rest days to your walking routine.
If you still want to aim for the same total mileage in a month, adjust your goals to walking 10 miles a day but take one rest day a week.
#4 Break up your walks
Aim for a total of 9 miles every day by breaking up the distance into shorter walks. Look for every opportunity to walk – your daily commute, walking to meet friends, taking the stairs, walking around the office, walking on the spot in a queue – it all adds up.
Thoughts from Love Life Be Fit
If you’re looking for a challenge or training for an ultra-distance event, walking 9 miles a day is ideal. As long as you fuel your walks properly and give yourself rest days, it can help you attain your goals.
But if you’re new to exercise start slowly and work up to the distance. If all you can manage is a mile a day – it’s still a great start! Follow our beginner walking plan first and build up your walking routine gradually.