China to Pit 12,000 Humans Against Robots in World's First AI Marathon Race

Are you a marathon runner? AI is coming for your job, too.

China is organizing what could be one of the weirdest races in history: a half-marathon where 12,000 humans will compete against an army of humanoid robots to see who’s the best long-distance runner.

The 21-kilometer race in Beijing's Daxing district isn't just another tech demo. More than 20 companies are bringing their best walking robots to compete, and they're playing for real money—the top three finishers get prizes regardless of whether they're made of flesh or metal.

This would be the first time humanoid robots race a full 21-kilometer course.

Last year, robots were able to join a race without having to complete the full route.

Image: UCSD/YouTube

The Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (E-Town), which is organizing the event, includes a strict no-wheels policy, and the bots actually need to look human-ish and walk on two legs.

They need to be between 0.5 and 2 meters tall—so no giant mechs or tiny robot cars will be sneaking in.

One of the early favorites is Tiangong, a humanoid that can run 10km/h. The robot, developed by China's Embodied Artificial Intelligence Robotics Innovation Center, already showed up at last year's Yizhuang Half Marathon. However, this will be its first shot at running the full course.

It also crossed the line alongside some of the fastest humans during last year’s half marathon—after joining for the last 100 meters.

Tiangong finishing the 2024 Beijing e-town half marathon. Image: beijing.gov.cn

It’s not like Americans are focusing on building super fast humanoid robots.

The Tesla Optimus Gen-2 peaks at 8km/h, so it’s slower than Tiangong, and the Atlas (built by Boston Dynamics) is a bit faster at 9km/h.

That said, there might be a worthy contestant: The OpenAI-backed 1X NEO, which reaches a theoretical speed of 12km/h.

The hype around AI and humanoid robotics is more present than ever in China.

Local companies installed 276,288 robots in 2023, accounting for 51% of global installations, according to the International Federation of Robotics. The industry is projected to hit 400 billion yuan ($54.6 billion) by 2030.

E-Town's not just organizing races—it’s already got robots working at Chinese BYD’s electric vehicle factories.

After this marathon, Beijing's planning another robo-sports showdown in August, featuring everything from track and field to football. The organization also plans to invest 60 billion yuan ($8.21 billion) in AI developments this year.

Participants have until February to make up their minds. The marathon will take place in Beijing this April, according to the Chinese government.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair