Reasonable average Human walking speed?

[Þorkell]

The route I walk to work is 4.6 km, it takes me 45 minutes to walk that route. The entire route is paved, but it is not flat.

[adm]

When I was in high school, sometimes I would walk home from school. I farm and live in a rural area. At that time I would walk seven miles in 90ish minutes. Doing some math that works out to 7.5 kph. Of course then I was in shape, and I am 6'4" tall, 193 cm. A third of the distance was paved, the rest gravel, and mostly level.

[vicky_molokh]

Back in school days, all the math problems seemed to expect 5km/h to be your average generic-universal walking human. Which translates nicely into GURPS' Basic Move.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

Back in school days, all the math problems seemed to expect 5km/h to be your average generic-universal walking human. Which translates nicely into GURPS' Basic Move.

I thought only spherical cows walked at that speed. I kid; I kid.

[Rupert]

A nice easy walk is about a yard/metre per second, or 3.6 km/h. This is a nice round number, hence it's popularity with urban traffic flow planners, and probably about right for a busy footpath with many people on it in no hurry as they chat on their phone and window shop (slowing and irritating the people in a hurry to get to or from work).

Marching with a heavy pack feels like a fast or long day after about the 20 mile mark. That's across country, but not through bush or over steep hills. This is also about the 'seven leagues' (or 21 miles) common to folk tales, which was a day's travel, or thereabouts. So, this is about what an unencumbered person used to walking can do comfortably in a day, or what an encumbered person used to marching can do with some effort in a day.

I long since concluded that the rates GURPS gives for lightly or unencumbered people's daily movement are for those in a hurry, alternating running and walking when the ground allows and so on. They don't reflect your average 'fit from a gym and road running' westerner doing weekend tramping at all, and nor do they really need to.

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

I thought only spherical cows walked at that speed.

Silly person. That's the speed at which spherical cows roll.

[Phoenix_Dragon]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

GURPS, defining averge Human Move as 5, with values as high as 10 (i.e. 200% movement capacity) implicitly being within the span of Human variation, says that you can travel Move*10 miles per day, presumably as a 10-hour/day hike, thus a speed of 5 miles/hour, which is about 8 km/h.

If you use the Basic's very simplified numbers. If you use the more detailed realistic hiking rules, that makes a person travel an average of only 2.5 mph (About 4 kph) in average terrain. Ideal terrain (Road, smooth plains, etc) ups this to about 3.1 mph (5 kph).

Personally, when I miss the bus and have to walk home from work, I go for half an hour at about 4 mph. I'm not fit, but I am tall (6'5"/196cm). I end it pretty warmed up, but I could easily hold that pace significantly longer.

[Dragondog]

According to Google Maps, my walking pace is about 4.5-6 km/h.

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

Silly person. That's the speed at which spherical cows roll.

Nah, they're frictionless, they slide instead.

Rolling involves stuff like moment's of inertia that doesn't get covered until well into the semester.

[Rocket Man]

Based on my occasional walks to and from work (not a short distance), I'm not far off 3 mph. (4.8 kph, give or take.) That's what I've usually heard as an average and it seems to bear out in my case.