Great News! Humans Came Out Victorious In Humans Vs. Robots Half-Marathon

Every time people decide that they're going to make humans compete against robots, I get a little nervous. I mean, we've had robots schooling humans in chess for years, but I was fine with that because they weren't mobile. If the chess robot decided it wanted a piece of you because you took its rook, you could just scoot your chair back and there's a 99.9 percent chance you'll be safe.

But when I heard that in Beijing they were going to have a bunch of running robots take on some humans in a half-marathon, it made me a bit anxious.

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We talked about it back when the humans vs. robots half-marathon was announced, but this sounded like a recipe for disaster. I'm not sure there are too many quick robots out there, but do you know what robots don't have to deal with? Muscle aches, rolling an ankle, cramping up.

Sure, they can leak hydraulic fluid or just tip over and not be able to get back on their feet, but I was concerned that if the 13.1 miles of the E-Town Humanoid Robot Half Marathon turned into a race of attrition, it was the robots' race to lose.

Then I saw some pictures of the race and realized humans had this one in the bag.

Look, it's not like I spend a lot of time at MIT or even a high school robotics class, so I was under the impression that robots were way further along than they were.

What hit the streets of Beijing could barely stand, let alone throw down a respectable mile time. I mean, look at this:

A robot loses control at the start of the humanoid robot half-marathon in Beijing on April 19, 2025. (Photo by Pedro PARDO / AFP) (Photo by PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images)

Did you read that caption?! That was at the start of the race! 

It's not like its battery started having trouble at the 11-mile mark, it was crumpling to the ground in a heap at what was still considered "the start."

According to CNN, the winning robot still got beaten by humans, and that was with the robots even being able to swap out for other robots. 

This win is a very good thing… unless it gives the robots some bulletin board material for next time.