In a striking blend of innovation and endurance, more than 20 two-legged robots competed alongside 12,000 human runners in the world’s first humanoid half-marathon, held Saturday in Beijing’s Yizhuang district, according to Reuters.
Despite the technological spectacle, human runners proved decisively faster. The top-performing robot, Tiangong Ultra—developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Centre — completed the 21-kilometre course in 2 hours and 40 minutes, far behind the men’s winner at 1 hour and 2 minutes, and nearly two hours slower than the world record.
The race highlighted China’s push to match and eventually surpass the West in humanoid robotics, an industry its government has dubbed a “new frontier in technological competition.”
A 2023 policy document from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology outlined goals for mass production and supply chain security by 2025.
Robots in the race, of various sizes and builds, jogged through a fenced-off lane. They were permitted to change batteries during the event, with teams incurring a 10-minute penalty for each full robot swap. Tiangong Ultra required just three battery changes and navigated the course with human support nearby, in case of stumbles.
Despite not threatening human athletic dominance, the robots’ performance surprised some experts. “I would have bet that none of them would finish,” said Alan Fern, an AI and robotics professor at Oregon State University, speaking to CNN.
The event arrives amid rising concerns over AI’s expanding capabilities. However, the spectacle served as a reminder that physical performance, at least in marathons, remains a human stronghold. Spectators and amateur runners captured the scenes on their phones as they passed the robots, many of which were leashed or remote-controlled for safety.
Tang Jian, the innovation centre’s CTO, claimed Tiangong Ultra’s design and algorithm allowed it to mimic human running strides. “I don’t want to boast,” he told Reuters, “but I think no other robotics firms in the West have matched Tiangong’s sporting achievements.”
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