Blending cutting-edge technology with athletic spectacle, China made history by hosting the world’s first half-marathon to feature humanoid robots. The 21-kilometer race, held on Saturday in Beijing’s Yizhuang district, saw more than 20 bipedal machines compete alongside 12,000 human participants. The groundbreaking event drew international attention and sparked fresh conversations about the evolving role of robotics and AI in society.
A Race of Unequal Footing
Though they raced on the same route, robots and humans were worlds apart in performance. Tiangong Ultra, developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Centre (also known as X-Humanoid), was the top robot finisher, clocking in at 2 hours and 40 minutes. This time was impressive for a machine—but nearly two hours behind the human winner, who finished in 1 hour and 2 minutes, and far short of the world record of 56:42.
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Despite these limitations, Tiangong Ultra was the only robot to complete the race in under three hours—the official qualifying threshold set by the Chinese Athletic Association. Only six of the 21 robotic contestants managed to cross the finish line at all.
Technology on Display
The event served as a showcase for China’s accelerating advancements in humanoid robotics. According to Morgan Stanley, 56% of the world’s publicly traded humanoid robotics firms are based in China. Companies such as Unitree Robotics, AgiBot, Galbot, and Engine AI are collectively aiming to produce over 1,000 robots in 2025 alone.
The humanoid marathon emphasized the government’s growing focus on robotics as a strategic industry. A 2023 policy document from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology dubbed humanoid robotics a “new frontier in technological competition,” setting ambitious goals for mass production and supply chain stability by 2025.
Endurance Meets Engineering
Robots of all shapes and sizes ran in a dedicated lane, monitored closely by operators for safety. Many required human assistance to remain upright or navigate obstacles. Tiangong Ultra completed the race with three battery swaps and only one fall. Battery changes were allowed during the race, though full robot replacements incurred a 10-minute penalty.
Tang Jian, CTO of X-Humanoid, credited Tiangong’s performance to its long legs and an algorithm trained on human running data via reinforcement learning. “I don’t want to boast, but I think no other robotics firms in the West have matched Tiangong’s sporting achievements,” Tang said.
Robots were also awarded for gait design, endurance, and innovation, although their capabilities still fall short of practical human-level agility. “This was more a hardware endurance demonstration than one of artificial intelligence,” noted Alan Fern, a robotics professor at Oregon State University.
Spectacle and Skepticism
Despite the engineering feat, public reaction was mixed. Videos circulating online showed robots stumbling, freezing mid-run, and in one case, losing a head during a fall. Most were leashed or accompanied by operators guiding them like remote-controlled cars. Some observers questioned whether such assisted machines should qualify as true humanoid runners. Nevertheless, the event resonated with excitement and curiosity. Spectators filmed the robots with smartphones as they passed, and AI enthusiasts, such as one named He Sishu, described the scene as witnessing “the evolution of robots and A.I.” Others urged a shift in focus from stunts to real-world applications. “If the aim is to demonstrate useful work, maybe next time they should race doing laundry or cleaning,” Wired’s Zeyi Yang joked.
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While the humanoid half-marathon did not threaten human athletic supremacy, it symbolized China’s broader ambitions in robotics. The event drew comparisons to the first motor race in Paris in 1894, suggesting that, just like early automobiles, today’s humanoids may one day transform industries and daily life. Zhan Wei of Shanghai-based Ti5Robot framed the event not as a contest of speed but of vision. “It’s not about who runs faster,” he said, “but whether one has the courage to take this step.” China has taken that step—and the race has only just begun.