How Many Steps Are in a Marathon and Why That Number Is Different for Every Runner

You’re going to run somewhere between 40,000 and 60,000 steps in a marathon. Let that sink in for a second. But here’s the thing: that number isn’t the same for everyone. Your height, your stride length, your cadence, even how tired your legs are at mile 22 all change the math. And while knowing exactly how many steps are in a marathon won’t get you to the finish line any faster, it might just change how you think about your training, your cadence work, and why those small tweaks your coach keeps nagging you about actually matter.

how many steps in a marathon — image from @visitcopenhagen

I’m someone who always checks my watch at the end of the day to see how many steps I’ve gotten in. Most days, I land somewhere around that 10,000 daily steps range unless it’s a rest day.

So whether you’re asking because you’re a data nerd who loves a good fun fact, you’re mid training block and suddenly curious, or you just want something to say when someone asks why you run so much, we’ve got the full breakdown for you.

It’s important to note that the numbers in the charts below are estimates, not the exact number of steps you can expect when you hit save on your watch.

How Many Steps in a Marathon- An Approximate Answer

There are so many factors that go into figuring out how many steps are taken during a marathon, whether you run 26.2 miles straight through, walk, or use a combo of run/walk intervals.

The easiest way to think about it is that your total number of steps comes down to the length of your stride.

Stride length is the distance you cover with each step. Longer isn’t always better. Overstriding, which is when your foot lands too far ahead of your center of gravity, is one of the most common running form issues and one of the most common contributors to injury. If you’ve ever dealt with shin splints, knee pain, or IT band issues, overstriding may have had something to do with it.

While most of us probably have no clue what our exact stride length is, a more readily obtainable number is our height.

Height can give a better idea of someone’s stride length, but it’s definitely not the only thing that matters. Your pace, cadence, running form, fatigue, and even hills can change how many steps you take during a run.

marathon steps height and pace

It’s not going to be perfect science, especially because you have no idea how race day is going to go.

Everyone runs a little differently, so your actual step count may look pretty different from someone the same height as you.

5 Factors that Affect the Number of Steps in a Marathon

Here are the five main factors that affect the number of steps in a marathon.

Here’s where the marathon math gets interesting: a small change say stride length or cadence adds up across 40,000 plus steps in a way it simply doesn’t on a 3 mile Tuesday run.

Shaving even a tiny bit of impact per step matters when you multiply it by that many repetitions. It’s why we talk so much about the need to be a durable runner and to get in that strength work!

Height and Leg Length

Who has seen the infamous IG reel with the audio, “wait for me, I have little legs!” If you’re a shorter runner, that means you’re going to have to take a lot of extra steps to keep up with your taller friends.

Runners with longer legs naturally take longer strides, meaning you’re running fewer steps over the course of 26.2 miles compared to shorter runners, even at the same pace.

Toronto Half Marathon

Walking vs Running vs. Run/Walk Intervals

The length of your step will change whether you run, power walk, or run/walk a marathon. When you’re walking, you take way more steps than if running.

And before anyone says anything, you can absolutely walk a marathon with power walking.

Cadence

Running cadence, simply put, refers to the number of steps you take per minute while running. The faster your cadence, the more steps you’ll wind up with at the end of a marathon (or any run).

When considering running cadence, you also want to consider our stride length. These two combined make up our running speed.

Running speed = Stride Length x Running Cadence (SPM)

As you can see, since these affect our running speed, two different runners with different running cadences might run the same pace. But one could be working harder and more prone to injuries as well.

One runner could have a short stride, but a faster cadence.
The other runner could have a long stride, but slower cadence.
Due to this you can have the same cadence at many different paces.

So then, what’s the best way forward? Should you have a faster cadence or a slower one? We all tend to have a natural cadence, but there are certain advantages to increasing your cadence, while shortening your strides.

cadence

A combination of a faster cadence with a shorter stride length is optimal. This is backed by a research study published in 2014 in Sports Health – a bi-monthly, peer-reviewed journal involved in the training and care of competitive or recreational athletes.

A faster cadence leads to:

less heel striking and less runners’ knee pain
higher turnover rate means less ground contact time (faster runners spend less time on the ground)
more momentum moving you forward
less wasted energy, especially for distance runners

Terrain

Not every marathon course is going to be perfectly flat and straight.

There are hills, turns, trails, uneven roads, and plenty of other things that can change the way you run throughout the race.

mesa marathon downhill boston qualifier

All of that can impact both your cadence and stride length.

For example, when running uphill, most runners naturally switch to shorter, quicker steps to make climbing feel more manageable.

Then on the downhill, your stride opens up a bit more, which can mean fewer steps as you make your way down…hopefully without feeling like you’re flying down the hill.

Race Day Fatigue

As you get farther into running a marathon, your body naturally starts to fatigue, which usually means your running form begins to change a bit too.

For a lot of runners, that means their stride starts to shorten during the later miles. When that happens, you end up taking more steps to cover the same distance.

This is why, if you look at your data post-marathon, you see a higher step count during the last bit of your marathon.

Calculate How Many Steps in a Marathon

There are different ways that you can accurately calculate how many steps are in a marathon for you.

Let’s look at three of the most accurate methods.

1. Pedometer or Fitness Tracker

One of the most common ways to measure how many steps you’re running or walking in a marathon is by using a pedometer (aka your GPS running watch or your Apple watch). You can also get a fitness band that is worn around your wrist or ankle to track your steps.

Research also shows that wearing a fitness tracker on your non-dominate wrist is better for accuracy as it reduces the risk of your arm motions being counted as steps.

2. Mobile App

Another way you can measure it is by using an app. You can download a mobile app such as StepsApp that will count your steps and also measure the distance with your phone’s GPS or on select fitness trackers.

The issue with this is that your distance can be off by approximately 10 percent while using a GPS from your phone. To get the best GPS signals, make sure to do this outdoors away from any buildings and trees.

3. Step Length

Your step length is by far one of the most accurate measures of how many steps in a mile there are for you.

This takes into account your age, sex, height (or more specifically leg length), as well as whether you’re running or walking.

Your step length is different from your stride length. So, your stride length is the distance covered during two steps.

Fitness bands such as a FitBit also allow you to adjust your stride length through the Edit Profile function to get a more accurate number if you choose to use it. Your stride length will simply be your step length times two.

We hope that this was helpful and now gave you a better idea of how many steps are in a marathon.

Does the number of steps you take in the marathon matter?

Yes and no.

It’s not like there is a perfect step count that magically makes you faster or less injury prone, so no. BUT it’s absolutely a reminder of just how much pounding your body is experiencing to cover 26.2 miles. If you haven’t done the proper build up to allow your muscles, tendons, bones and joints to adapt over the course of a 20 week marathon training plan then you’re flirting with injury.

As running coaches, our first focus is on smart training to make you a durable runner. After that we dial in to the little things like cadence and drills, but those don’t matter if you don’t have the miles.