China Hosts World's First Robot Half-Marathon — Most Runners Fail to Finish

China’s First Robot Half-Marathon Ends in Chaos and Comedy, Few Finish the Race

In a bold showcase of technological ambition, China hosted the world’s first half-marathon for humanoid robots in Beijing’s southern tech hub, E-Town — and it was as chaotic as it was historic. Of the 21 robot participants, only four managed to complete the 13-mile (20.9 km) course within the four-hour limit, with the majority either malfunctioning, collapsing, or simply too slow to finish.

The race was set against the backdrop of China’s drive to lead in artificial intelligence, robotics, and semiconductor development, a key focus of President Xi Jinping’s vision for technological self-reliance. While the event was meant to highlight advances in robotics, the result was more slapstick than sleek. One robot stumbled right at the start line, another lost its head — literally — and a few crumbled mid-race into scattered parts.

The winner, Tiangong Ultra, a 5-foot-10 android created by Beijing-based X-Humanoid, completed the race in 2 hours and 40 minutes. It wasn’t close to the performance of human gold medalists, but it was a milestone nonetheless. The Tiangong Ultra was specifically engineered for the race by X-Humanoid, which receives backing from tech giant Xiaomi and robotics firm UBTech. "This race was an extreme test of resilience and stability,” said Tang Jian, Chief Technology Officer at X-Humanoid. “It proves robots can perform around the clock in the future.”

Still, Tiangong Ultra needed three battery changes and suffered one fall during the race. It was guided by a human instructor wearing a signal device, which the bot mimicked to stay on course. Other robots were operated by humans using joysticks, and a few were literally on leashes. Twenty-four teams took off in staggered starts, followed by shuttle buses carrying substitute bots and engineers on standby.

To compete, each robot had to be humanoid and run on two legs. Battery swaps and robot substitutions were allowed but came with time penalties. Spectators, including amused parents and children, lined the track, cheering the mechanical runners and snapping photos.

The androids came in all shapes and sizes. One towering robot, resembling the anime icon Gundam, lost control and crashed into the barricades separating human and robotic racers. Huan Huan, the only female-presenting robot with a mannequin-style face and Stormtrooper-like armor, collapsed shortly after the start, scattering parts across the track.

The shortest competitor, Little Giant, built by college students, was just 75 cm tall and could only manage 1.4 mph. At one point, smoke poured from its head before it paused and powered down — though engineers had only expected it to run a few miles.

Among the highlights was a strong showing from Noetix Robotics, founded by 27-year-old Jiang Zheyuan. His N2 robot finished second, while another N2 bot placed third but was bumped to fourth due to multiple substitutions and penalties. Jiang, a Tsinghua University dropout, said the race brought valuable exposure and confirmed delivery plans for 700 robots at $6,000 each.

Some notable robotics firms, like Hangzhou-based Unitree, didn’t officially participate. One of their G1 robots fell at the starting line, prompting the company to clarify that it was used without their algorithm. Instead, Unitree is focusing on a robot fighting competition.

Despite the falls, mishaps, and slow speeds, China’s first robot half-marathon was a spectacle that captured public imagination — and offered a humorous yet hopeful glimpse into the future of robotics.