A humanoid robot from Honor completed a half marathon in 50 minutes and 26 seconds—six minutes faster than the men's world record.
Humanoid robots hit the ground running in the Beijing E-Town humanoid robot half-marathon on Sunday, competing in both autonomous navigation and remote-controlled categories. #marathon #Beijing #HumanoidRobot pic.twitter.com/dxacB1BzH2
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) April 19, 2026
The second annual 21 km race in Beijing, featuring robots running alongside humans, showcased rapid advancements in artificial intelligence. It allowed machines to develop the physical skills and agility needed to perform various tasks.
In last year's inaugural race, the robots struggled. One fell at the start, while another fell apart. The majority of machines failed to complete the distance, with the fastest android finishing in 2 hours and 40 minutes.
🇨🇳 Today, the first-ever robot half marathon took place in Beijing, China.😏
— Javier 🇺🇾 (@javierellob0) April 21, 2025
The Tiangong Ultra from UB Tech won with a time of 2 hours and 40 minutes.😏 pic.twitter.com/lmbuQv3pC0
The race on April 19, 2026, demonstrated significant progress, noted analyst Dean Wang and his colleagues from Bernstein Research.
While most robots were remotely controlled last year, this time, 40% ran autonomously.
"The course included flat sections, inclines, narrow passages, and about 20 turns. The competition showcases the rapid improvement in robot intelligence, enabling them to handle various real-world conditions," experts wrote.
The race winner was remotely controlled and fell just meters from the finish line, requiring a human team to lift the robot back up.
This Chinese humanoid robot just shattered the world record for a half marathon, finishing in 50 min 26 sec.
— Kyle Chan (@kyleichan) April 19, 2026
This video shows its crash just meters before the finish line where it had to be picked up by a team of humans. The robot is from Honor, the smartphone maker and Huawei… pic.twitter.com/HflDC0rInX
Other robots also faced challenges—some stumbled at the starting line, while others experienced mechanical failures.
Over 100 teams entered 300 machines in the race. The Chinese smartphone manufacturer Honor, which pivoted to robotics after separating from Huawei in 2020, captured all three podium spots.
Last year, the Tiangong Ultra from Beijing's X-Humanoid Research Institute won. Bernstein analysts emphasized that competition among developers in the country is intensifying. They are leveraging a developed supply chain, decreasing component prices, and rapid advancements in balance, gait, and energy efficiency.
The race highlights China's industrial policy priorities. The latest government economic plan through 2030 outlines development goals in artificial intelligence and quantum computing, in addition to robotics.
China aims to make progress in developing robots to mitigate economic risks associated with an aging population.
Notably, in December 2025, appliance manufacturer Midea Group developed a six-armed industrial robot, MIRO U.