Humanoid Robots Run First Half Marathon Alongside Humans In Beijing

Humanoid robots ran for the first time in a half-marathon in Beijing on Saturday. Twenty-one bipedal machines from different makers joined thousands of human runners in the 21.1-kilometer course.

According to Reuters, the record of the first robot that made it to the finish line was 2 hours and 40 minutes, accomplished by Tiangong Ultra from the Beijing Innovation Center of Human Robotics. The winner of the human race finished in 1 hour and 2 minutes.

The robot participants were of different shapes and sizes, one of the tallest measured 1.80 meters (5.9 ft), and there were humanoid machines as short as 1.20 meters (3.9 ft.

“The robots are running very well, very stable … I feel I’m witnessing the evolution of robots and AI,” said He Sishu, one of the spectators who works in AI.

Humanoid robots competed against humans in a Beijing half-marathon — and lost. Here are the highlights (and lowlights). pic.twitter.com/tLmJl4Qeun

— DW News (@dwnews) April 21, 2025

The race had been rescheduled from April 13 to April 19 due to weather conditions, as a cold front with extreme winds was expected for that day. This Saturday, even with better weather conditions, not all robots made it to the finish line. One of the robots fell at the beginning and struggled to continue, and another crashed into a railing.

According to AP, all robots were accompanied by human navigators and had their lane, separated from human runners with a divider as a safety precaution.

China has been making major investments in AI and robotics to develop new strategies for economic growth. Last year, China hosted the World Robot Conference (WRC) 2024 in Beijing, where multiple organizations and companies—including Tesla—showcased impressive humanoid robots.

The recent race was another way to demonstrate developments and new achievements in the sector. “A focus going forward for us will be industrial applications for humanoid robots so they can truly enter factories, business scenarios, and finally households,” said Tang Jian, chief technology officer for the Beijing Innovation Center of Human Robotics.