Map My Run vs. Map My Hike calorie difference?

hapa11

Yesterday I ran 3.5 miles in about 33 minutes. Map My Run gave me a calorie burn of about 300, which is pretty much what My Fitness Pal would give me. Today I did the same run using Map My Hike, thinking I might get a few more calories because I do climb quite a large hill. I did it in nearly the exact amount of time as yesterday, but this app only counted 250 calories for the workout. All my stats (height, weight, etc) are the same. Any idea why I would get such a large discrepancy?

cwolfman13

It's all an estimate...I wouldn't exactly call 50 calories a large discrepancy.

hapa11

Sorry, actually the calorie burn was 324 so about 75 calories difference. Does that still seem like it'd be within the parameters? Same app really, right?

hjg0989

75/324 = 21.5% I don't know anything about the app, but that seems pretty inaccurate to me.

NorthCascades

If the difference is only 21 %, that's better than an HRM will get you.

The difference probably comes down to one calculator being programmed for running where you jump off the ground with one leg with every step, and the other being programmed for hiking where you maintain your balance over rough and uneven ground, and take lots of photo stops.

sijomial

Walking is about twice as energy efficient a way of covering distance as running.
Hiking on rough ground is going to be in the middle somewhere depending on terrain.