Speed Benchmarks

The following speeds, adapted from Idris Hsi’s “The Reality of Running Away from Stuff” (http://www.cc.gatech.edu/home/idris/Movie_Reviews/Reality_of_Running_Away.html), are not mathematically perfect but close enough for gaming estimates during play.

SPEED PER HOUR … … SPEED PER 6-SECOND ROUND … EXAMPLE

0.6 mph (0.9 kph) … 5 feet/round (1.5 meters/round) … free step in combat, ordinary human crawling
0.8 mph (1.3 kph) … 7.5 feet/round (2.2 meters/round) … ordinary human climbing or swimming
1 mph (1.8 kph) … 10 feet/round (3 meters/round) … fast human crawling
1.5 mph (2.5 kph) … 15 feet/round (4 meters/round) … walking zombies
3.5 mph (5 kph) … 30 feet/round (8 meters/round) … ordinary human walking

5 mph (8 kph) … 45 feet/round (13 meters/round) … fastest swimming human (Olympic record)
7 mph (10 kph) … 60 feet/round (15 meters/round) … swarm of angry killer bees, ordinary human jogging
10 mph (15 kph) … 85 feet/round (25 meters/round) … Australian freshwater crocodile swimming
15 mph (25 kph) … 130 feet/round (40 meters/round) … parachuting human falling; roadrunner bird running
20 mph (30 kph) … 175 feet/round (50 meters/round) … lava flow in a steep channel, ordinary human running

25 mph (40 kph) … 220 feet/round (65 meters/round) … Rottweiler dog, T-rex dinosaur or fast human running
30 mph (50 kph) … 265 feet/round (85 meters/round) … thrown knife (top speed)
35 mph (55 kph) … 300 feet/round (90 meters/round) … German Shepherd dog, lion, tiger or bear running
40 mph (65 kph) … 350 feet/round (105 meters/round) … velociraptor dinosaur or coyote running; duck flying
45 mph (70 kph) … 400 feet/round (115 meters/round) … ostrich running

50 mph (80 kph) … 440 feet/round (135 meters/round)
55 mph (90 kph) … 485 feet/round (150 meters/round)
60 mph (95 kph) … 530 feet/round (160 meters/round)
65 mph (100 kph) … 770 feet/round (165 meters/round)
70 mph (115 kph) … 615 feet/round (190 meters/round) … cheetah sprinting (single round burst)

75 mph (120 kph) … 660 feet/round (200 meters/round)
80 mph (130 kph) … 700 feet/round (215 meters/round)
85 mph (135 kph) … 750 feet/round (225 meters/round)
90 mph (145 kph) … 790 feet/round (240 meters/round)
85 mph (150 kph) … 835 feet/round (250 meters/round) … stone shot from commercial slingshot

100 mph (160 kph) … 880 feet/round (265 meters/round) … bolt shot from crossbow
110 mph (175 kph) … 970 feet/round (290 meters/round)
115 mph (180 kph) … 1,000 feet/round (305 meters/round) … Peregrine falcon (diving)
135 mph (215 kph) … 1,180 feet/round (360 meters/round) … human falling at terminal velocity
190 mph (305 kph) … 1,675 feet/round (510 meters/round) … arrow shot from 84-lb. compound bow

205 mph (330 kph) … 1,810 feet/round (550 meters/round) … Boeing 747-400 take-off speed
310 mph (500 kph) … 2,715 feet/round (830 meters/round) … small meteorite falling from the sky
330 mph (530 kph) … 2,890 feet/round (880 meters/round) … 1929 biplane
550 mph (885 kph) … 4,840 feet/round (1,475 meters/round) … .45 automatic bullet
575 mph (925 kph) … cruising speed of commercial passenger aircraft
767 mph (1,234 kph) … 6,700 feet/round (2,040 meters/round) … speed of sound at sea level

850 mph (1,370 kph) … 7,500 feet/round (2,285 meters/round) … .357 mag bullet
920 mph (1,480 kph) … 8,090 feet/round (2,465 meters/round) … 12 gauge shotgun pellets
1,078 mph (1,732 kph) … 9,488 feet/round (2,892 meters/round) … rotation speed of Earth
1,534 mph (1,534 kph) … Mach 2, top fighter jet speed
1,600 mph (2,575 kph) … 14,075 feet/round (4,290 meters/round) … F-15 fighter jet max velocity
2,280 mph (3,675 kph) … 20,075 feet/round (6,120 meters/round) … shockwave of an explosion underwater
2,301 mph (3,704 kph) … Mach 3
2,640 mph (4,250 kph) … 23,225 feet/round (7,080 meters/round) … surface-to-air missile (Russian SA-2)
3,069 mph (4,939 kph) … Mach 4
5,325 mph (8,570 kph) … 46,850 feet/round (14,280 meters/round) … shockwave of an explosion in air
17,500 mph (28,160 kph) … orbital velocity of rocket launch
25,020 mph (40,265 kph) … escape velocity/speed from Earth’s surface

670 mil. mph (1 tril. kph) … 6 billion ft./rnd. (1.8 billion m/rnd.) … speed of light