Robots Tried to Run a Half-Marathon in Beijing and It Was as Chaotic as You’d Expect

Beijing hosted the world’s first half-marathon for robots, resulting in a hilariously chaotic event where most robots struggled to finish the race.

Well, folks, Beijing just put on what they’re calling the world’s first half-marathon for robots, and let me tell you, it was a sight to see. Picture this: a bunch of bipedal bots, some looking like they stepped right out of a sci-fi movie, trying to keep up with human runners. And by ‘keep up,’ I mean most of them couldn’t even make it past the starting line without falling apart—literally. One bot’s head popped off and rolled away like a bowling ball, and another just collapsed into pieces. It’s like watching a toddler’s first steps, but with more metal and less crying.

Out of 21 robots that started, only four managed to cross the finish line within the four-hour limit. The winner, Tiangong Ultra, took two hours and 40 minutes—more than double the time of the fastest human. And even then, it needed three battery swaps to get there. Teams could swap out their robots mid-race, but that came with time penalties. So, yeah, it wasn’t exactly a fair fight, but it sure was entertaining.

Some of the bots were wearing human running shoes, which is just adorable. There was a Gundam-inspired robot, a ‘female-looking’ bot named Huan Huan, and a tiny 30-inch-tall Little Giant made by college students. It’s clear we’ve got a long way to go before robots are winning marathons, but for now, I’m just here for the laughs.