Normal Walking Speed?

"Steve" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dear all, I'm doing paper on human behaviour. Does anybody know if there

is

Quoted message said:

any research or study about "normal wlking speed" of human being, and any academic materials can
be found on net?

The standard equation is Naysmith's Rule: 3MPH + half hour per 1000 feet.

In euros this is about 5 Km/h + 1/2 hour per 300m. But this equation works best over long distances
and varying terrains.

So on the flat we assume 5Km/h is the normal speed. If at the same you are climbing 100m per Km flat
(1:10 slope) then it would take 12mins (for the 1Km) + 10mins (for the 100m)
= 22mins to walk each 1Km - equivalent to around 3 Km/h.

Going downhill is assumed to be the same as walking on the flat.

HTH.

--
Adrian

This may help I've extracted it from the following paper, available on the Internet, but I know not
wher. You should be able to locate it though.

David Gibbins
-------------

Accessibility as an important wilderness indicator: Modelling Naismith's Rule Steffen Fritz and
Steve Carver School of Geography University of Leeds Fax: 0113 233 3308 E-mail:
[email hidden]

W.W. Naismith was a founder of the Scottish Mountaineering Club and a formidable walker and his rule
is still used to obtain a rough estimate of the time required for a given expedition (Aitken,
1977; Langmuir, 1984). It is thought that the rule gives a reasonable minimum time, but due to
the fact that Naismith was an optimist it is proposed by Wilderness Tech Tips
(1998) to take the Naismith value and add 50 %. Additional time can be added according to rests,
extra carried weight, poor weather and rough underfoot conditions. The basic rule of Naismith
states that a walker can maintain a speed of 5 km/h on level ground, but 1 hour needs to be
added for every 600m of ascent. Several refinements to Naismith's Rule have been made and
another rule, the so called Backpacker's Rule, has been defined (Wilderness Tech Tips, 1998).
Aitken (1977) makes refinements according to ground conditions. This assumes that 5 km/h can
be maintained on paths tracks and roads, while this is reduced to 4 km/h on all other
grounds. Langmuir (1984) makes following further refinements: Naismith's Rule: 5 km/h plus 1
hour per 600m ascent; minus 10 minutes per 300 m descent for slopes between 5 and 12 degrees;
plus 10 minutes per 300m descent for slopes greater than 12 degrees. Kennedy (1998) states
that the rule is applicable to reasonably fit hillwalkers negotiating typical terrain under
typical weather conditions. Furthermore he mentions the following factors as having a
significant effect on route times: Terrain and conditions Underfoot It has to be noticed that
only on a good footpath can Naismith's speed of 5 km/h be readily maintained and that on a
densely vegetated trackless terrain, hag-ridden ground, or boulder fields a 'time penalty'
must to be added. Additionally, Naismith's climbing rate (600m per hour) is unlikely to be
achieved whilst rock scrambling. Furthermore, winter conditions can change the walking time
remarkably. For example, a cover of soft and drifted snow or snow with a breakable crust can
make walking conditions extremely difficult. Weather Wind is the most important
meteorological factor. Kennedy (1998, p.3) remarks "a strong headwind can more than halve
walking speed, a strong crosswind on a exposed ridge can also impede process, by forcing
frequent stops to avoid getting blown off!" and "coincidental hail, sleet or snow can add to
the trauma - particularly if effective eye protection is not available". Descent Naismith's
formula makes no special allowance for downhill sections, and only the map distance covered
is taken into account at the standard walking pace. The reason why during steep descents a
delay occurs is mainly due to the need to take shorter steps, or to reduce the slope angle
and extend path length by zig-zagging. Due to the fact the descent affects walking time, the
refinements made my Langmuir in 1984 are taken into account and his rule used to model time
distances in the current analysis (see section 3.3). Fitness and load carried Another factor
which obviously contributes to the walking time into an area is the fitness of the
hillwalker. Kennedy (1998, p.4) mentions Tranter's correction to take an individual's fitness
into account: "An allowance can be made for this factor by use of Tranter's correction. This
is in the form of a table, where the basic Naismith estimate for a route is modified by a
factor which is dependent on individual fitness level; this in turn can be determined by
recording the time taken to climb a set height (300m) over a set distance (800m) at normal
walking space. Whereas Naismith's Rule assumes a steady rate, Tranter's correction takes into
account the effects of fatigue, such that a reduced mean work rate is assumed for the more
demanding excursions." In a study by Kennedy (1998) the ascent time for peaks in two areas
were chosen to investigate the reliability of Naismith's Rule; the Lake District
'Wainwrights' and the Munros in the Scottish Highlands. In this study the original Naismith's
Rule was applied without Tranter's correction and with no additional allowance made for
scrambling routes or steeply descending pitches. Figure 2 <nai1.gif> Figure 2 shows that
Naismith's Rule is a good predictor for walking time in the Lake District hills within a
percentage of 25 percent. On another terrain walking distances may differ significantly. This
is the case in the Scottish Munros. Differences occur due to the amount of scrambling
required on these routes and the more serious nature of winter routes (most of the points
below the lower 25% line are scrambling or winter routes). Furthermore, when walking long
distances, a 'fatigue factor' is revealed. This is shown in figure 3.

"Steve" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dear all, I'm doing paper on human behaviour. Does anybody know if there

is

Quoted message said:

any research or study about "normal wlking speed" of human being, and any academic materials can
be found on net?

Thanks!

In article <[email hidden]>, Paul Saunders <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Only there's a catch. That walking speed is only "normal" if you are very fit. Naismith, who worked
out the formula, was an extremely fit walker. Most people can't keep up with him.

Quite so, there is a normal speed for fit people, and a normal speed for normal people.
--
Bill Grey billboy.co.ukbillboy.co.ukOpen ↗

Hello all; Many years ago when I still lived in the old country I saw a table compiled for military
purposes. On it it stated that at sea level without any significant luggage the expected walking
speed was 6 km/h. It also had listed speeds for different altitudes, descending and ascending,
weight of luggage, rate of climb etc. but I cannot remember these. Frank
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

"Steve" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
: Dear all, I'm doing paper on human behaviour. Does
anybody know if there is
: any research or study about "normal wlking speed" of human
being, and any
: academic materials can be found on net?
:
: Thanks!
:
:

Adrian Tupper writes

Quoted message said:

Going downhill is assumed to be the same as walking on the flat.

Unless you have dodgy knees. In fact, I should think most folk would have difficulty maintaining
5KPH on a typical Snowdonia descent.

--
Trevor Dennis Remove s-p-a-m to email

Paul Saunders writes

Quoted message said:

"Mike Clark" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

In these days where many people collect GPS tracklogs it ought to be easy to collect a large
sample of data for analysis according to distance and altitude.

Yes, I really should analyse mine more closely, I've got over three years worth now.

Are there any apps that give point by point speed for a track log? Looking at a .plt file in
Notepad, shows that it should not be difficult to do it in Excel. The problem would be relating the
information to where you are on a map.

--
Trevor Dennis Remove s-p-a-m to email

In article <[email hidden]>, Paul Saunders <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Not with me, ascents slow me down far more, probably due to carrying too much weight (and not just
the weight of my gear!).

Can't think what that excess avoirdupois could be!
--
Bill Grey billboy.co.ukbillboy.co.ukOpen ↗

In article <1103_1048814954@Loud_Belch>, Sir Nigel Puke-Fuui <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Going too fast and going too slow are both stressful. Anyone else notice this?

Ambling lazily following my wife around the shops is particularly knackering.
--
Bill Grey billboy.co.ukbillboy.co.ukOpen ↗

In article <[email hidden]>, Paul Saunders <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

So the team as a whole would reach their objective most quickly if they walked at the speed of the
slowest member and didn't stop for rests.

Hm! I take it the team doesn't have any photographers on board :-)

Roger mentioned earlier that it is important to walk with a rhythm. I totally agree on this point.
Taking photographs definitely break the rhythm of a walk, but one must consider ones priorities.
Walk or snap that is the question.

Atone time I used to road walk quite a bit and could easily maintain a pace of 116 paces/min for
distances up to about 3 - 4 miles. It would be interesting to relate this to Mph or Kph.

My paces would be normal for a 5' 10" person.
--
Bill Grey billboy.co.ukbillboy.co.ukOpen ↗

Paul Saunders writes

Quoted message said:

"Trevor Dennis" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Are there any apps that give point by point speed for a track log?

OziExplorer. Open the Track Control window and click on the Show Track List button. All the data
for each track point is shown, along with the distance, speed and heading between each track point.

Well I never!! I don't know how long I've been using OziE, but my most recent saved track log was
from 1997! And I've always thought it a tads nerdish recording track-logs, but that sort of
information makes is very interesting.

I did get a shock to see speeds up to 250mph over Cadair Idris on one track-log, until I remembered
I'd input the points manually. I was also surprised at how quickly I walk - if only for the first
mile or so. ;-)

Quoted message said:

Also Ozi can display a speed profile of your walk, plotted against either distance or time. The
trouble is that I stop to take photos so often that even a gentle Gower stroll ends up looking like
a Himalayan skyline. I imagine a graph of a cycle ride would be a lot smoother, I'm less prone to
take frequent photos when cycling.

You mean it can display a graph? How do you do that then? (I'll have a look at the help file)

--
Trevor Dennis Remove s-p-a-m to email

Neville Y writes

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In case you haven't found it. View > Track > Track Profile

Thanks Neville.

I must say these discoveries have reawakened my interest in both OziE and GPS - neither of which
have had a lot of use since the initial surge that a new toy gives you. I demonstrated the function
to a work mate today, whom I'd loaned the GPS to to test a suspect speedometer on his car. He was
pretty impressed. I am thankful I didn't realise I could do that when I still had my motorcycle.

--
Trevor Dennis Remove s-p-a-m to email

Stuart Baldwin writes

Quoted message said:

I also find that this sort of ambling aggravates my low-back pain, which walking at my own pace,
even with a pack, doesn't really do.

Yes. Isn't that strange. Something to do with standing still, which is murder on a dodgy back? I get
FAR less back trouble when humping a 40lb pack about for days on end, than I do normally. Mind you -
the pain from aching shoulders etc. might just be disguising it.

--
Trevor Dennis Remove s-p-a-m to email

In article <[email hidden]>, Paul Saunders <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Absolutely, although in my case I like to compose music in my head as a walk along. I find the
mountains very inspiring for that. I've composed some great music in the hills, but all of it is
lost forever... :-(

Beethoven's 9th slows me down a bit :-)
--
Bill Grey billboy.co.ukbillboy.co.ukOpen ↗

"Adrian Tupper" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

The standard equation is Naysmith's Rule: 3MPH + half hour per 1000 feet.

Only there's a catch. That walking speed is only "normal" if you are very fit. Naismith, who worked
out the formula, was an extremely fit walker. Most people can't keep up with him.

Paul
--
wilderness-wales.co.ukwilderness-wales.co.ukOpen ↗

Dear Adrian, thanks a lot! Is there any publications or study regarding Naysmith's Rule?

Quoted message said:

The standard equation is Naysmith's Rule: 3MPH + half hour per 1000 feet.

That means 3MPH + half hour per 1000 feet *of ascent*. Not everyone would know that, so it's
important to state it.

--
Mike W

Naismith's Rule: 5 km/h plus 1 hour per 600m ascent; minus 10 minutes per 300 m descent for slopes
between 5 and 12 degrees; plus 10 minutes per 300m descent for slopes greater than 12 degrees.

Gaza's Rule:

For Wait-A-While, allow 1.5 hours for 1K For flooded creeks allow 1 KPH For dislocated shoulder in
rough terrain allow 5 hours for 3K On the home stretch heading towards a pub allow 6 KPH.

A very interesting discussion....

One thing I have noticed is that my "normal walking speed" is a fixed quantity. I go out almost
every day, walking the undulating dirt roads near my home. I almost always have my GPS with me. Over
the long term it reports my normal walking speed at 5.1 kph. I can maintain this for several hours
at a time. But if I go out with a group of fitter people and they insist on going at 5.3 kph, I
suddenly get very buggered very fast. As well, if a "senior" party wants to go at 4.8 kph, then
again I become prematurely tired. Going too fast and going too slow are both stressful. Anyone else
notice this?

The rules I used to go by are similar to Naysmith's, but takes into account type of track and
includes descent...

4wd track/bitumen - 5km/h Walking track - 4kh/h Light bush bash/route - 3km/h

Then add 10min/100m up, or TAKE 10 min/100m down...

After about 500kms of using this guide one year, where I had to write walking notes with expected
times etc, I found this system very accurate.

For the faster walkers, the calculated times would include a short hourly stop, but for the most
part, the times would be actual walking times, sometimes uncannily accurate!

Cheers, Jason (remove ----- to reply)

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