Robots ran with humans in Beijing’s first robot half-marathon
A special and new kind of race was held in Beijing, China, where robots with two legs ran together with human runners. This was the first time that robots took part in an official half-marathon race with people.
In this unique event, a total of 21 robots took part, but only 4 robots could finish the full 13-mile (about 21 km) race. For most of the robots, the race was very hard. Some fell down at the start, one robot’s head came off, and one broke into pieces during the race.
The biggest success in the race was the robot Tiangong Ultra from X Humanoid company. This robot is about 5 feet 10 inches tall and finished the race in 2 hours and 40 minutes. That was much slower than the human winners, but still a big step for technology.
Teams were allowed to change batteries and robots
Tiangong robot won the Beijing half marathon with a time of 2 hours 40 minutes – more than twice the time of the men's race winner.
The robot is built by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center. https://t.co/0QGcEOeTpp pic.twitter.com/dVnYx2uZ5A
— The Humanoid Hub (@TheHumanoidHub) April 19, 2025
During the race, teams were allowed to change the robot’s battery and even replace the robot if needed, but that added time as a penalty. Tiangong Ultra finished the race on its third battery.
Other robots in the race included N2 from Noetix Robotics, a robot that looked like Gundam from Japanese cartoons, a robot with a female-like shape called Huan Huan, and a Little Giant robot made by local college students. Many robots were also wearing human running shoes to help them move better.
A mix of tech and fun
In the first robot half-marathon, 21 robots ran with 1000s of people in Beijing.
Fastest robot (5’11, 115lbs in orange vest) finished the race in 2:40:42 with help of operators and a battery change. The 2nd place robot was the wild 4’11 kid-looking one.pic.twitter.com/rw1A71URKj
— Trung Phan (@TrungTPhan) April 21, 2025
The race did not just show the progress in robot technology, but it was also fun to watch the running with humans. Many robots were trying hard to stay in the race even when they were falling or having problems.
It’s still early to say if robots can run marathons like humans, but this event is a strong first step towards the progress. It shows that robot technology is now coming out of labs and trying real-world challenges.
ALSO READ: Google Offers Gemini AI Free For Students Until 2026
