The Beijing Human and Humanoid Robot Half Marathon took place on April 19 in Yizhuang (亦庄), a district in the southeastern suburbs of the capital.
The Chinese name for the race is even more of a mouthful than the English: 半程马拉松暨人形机器人半程马拉松
It’s now in its second year, we discussed the first half marathon back in April 2025.
In that race, robots of all shapes and sizes lurched down the course, many falling before the finish line. The winner in 2025 was Tiangong Ultra (天工Ultra) which crossed the line in 2 hours 40 minutes.
One year on and the event looks almost unrecognisable:
This year’s competitors have seen marked gains in both efficiency and stability.
Their on-track performance is far more consistent, reflecting a leap in several fundamental capabilities.
今年参赛的机器人，其运行效率与稳定性均有提升，赛道表现更趋稳定，背后对应的是多项底层能力的同步进步。
102 teams competed in the race, with over 300 robots from 26 brands running alongside human competitors on the same course. Teams from 13 provinces across China, as well as overseas labs from Germany, France, and Brazil took part.
The 21-kilometre course was more challenging than last year’s. It took the competitors through different terrains including slopes, narrow sections, and sharp bends of almost 90 degrees.
Fewer than half of the robots made it to the finish line.
The pre-race favourite was the H1 by Unitree Robotics (宇树科技), which had clocked speeds of up to 7.51 metres per second in qualifying. But on the day, it fell near the finish line and was unable to complete the race.
The winner was a surprise to many, and a new entrant this year.
It was called Lightning (闪电), built by smartphone manufacturer Honor (荣耀). Lightning had its wobbles along the way, falling around 200 metres from the finish. But it managed to complete the race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, smashing the human world record for that distance.
Second and third places were also taken by Honor-made robots.
In fact the mobile brand swept all six of the top places. That’s despite Honor’s robotics division only being established since mid-2025. With most of the core team drawn from its existing smartphone research and development unit.
While Honor’s dominance on the podium did come as a surprise to many, it was not such a shock to the Honor team. They went into the race with confidence as Lightning had completed the course in the pre-race dry run in around 50 minutes, without running at full speed:
After the robot from Honor shattered human records while “holding back” during pre-race testing, the team knew that the race was in the bag.
在开赛前一周的全要素路测中，荣耀机器人”收着跑”仅发挥七八成功力，就打破了人类最好半马纪录，团队内部当时就觉得，夺冠已是”探囊取物”。
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Although the team behind Lightning is new, this win has been much longer in the making.
Speaking in Beijing after the race, Honor’s Chief Strategy Officer for Embodied Intelligence, Wang Ai (王皑), explained:
“Why was Honor able to build ‘Lightning’ at lightning speed in just six months?
The answer lies in a decade of experience in the smartphone supply chain.”
The ecosystem we built for consumer electronics — from precision structural components and sensors to LiDAR and cooling systems— has all been repurposed for our robots.”
“为什么荣耀能够在6个月这样一个’闪电’的时间里做出’闪电’？这背后是我们在手机制造业供应链上十年经验的积累。”荣耀在消费电子领域沉淀的供应链体系，从精密结构件到传感器，从激光雷达到散热泵体等，都复用到了机器人身上。
In March last year, Honor CEO Li Jian (李健) launched the company’s “Alpha Plan”, setting out its transformation from a smartphone manufacturer into a “global leading AI device ecosystem company” (全球领先的 AI 终端生态公司).
He committed to an investment of $10 billion dollars over the next five years. And it’s already yielding results: in March this year, Honor launched its first “robot phone” (机器人手机) with a camera which apparently has the agility of a human neck!
The sudden dominance of Honor in this race is a sign of things to come in China’s embodied intelligence sector. “Embodied intelligence” (具身智能) is a phrase we’ll be hearing much in the coming months and years — which we first shared with you in November last year.
This is what's known as a “wind vent” (风口), which we translate as “the next big thing”. These are sectors which suddenly become hugely popular with investors who deploy massive amounts of cash into start-ups in the sector looking for quick returns.
And that’s certainly happening in China’s embodied intelligence industry. According to one research firm, over 50 funding rounds linked to these technologies were completed in the first quarter of 2026. That’s a cumulative financing of around 20 billion yuan (or nearly $3 billion USD) in just three months.
But, as we’ve seen in other wind vent sectors, funding can soon run dry, and “involuted” competition destroys many of the early movers. Which is why Honor and others are sprinting to gain a dominant position while they still can.
Many of the companies in that race will not survive. And it’s a reckoning which may not be far off, as one industry expert warns:
“In the next six to twelve months, the humanoid robots will have to step out of the show room and enter the examination hall.”
“未来6到12个月，人形机器人行业该从秀场进考场了。”
So that’s what we’re exploring this week!
Favourite Five
1. 包揽 bāo lǎn
to sweep, to win all
荣耀“包揽”胜利的现象，也引发了行业的冷静思考 - Honor’s clean sweep has also prompted sober reflection within the industry. [4]
2. 颤颤巍巍 chàn chàn wēi wēi
trembling, shaky
它自己又颤颤巍巍地爬起来完成了撞线 - It staggered back up and somehow managed to cross the finish line. [3]
3. 肉眼可见 ròu yǎn kě jiàn
visible to the naked eye, clearly noticeable
肉眼可见的是，今年参赛的机器人，其运行效率与稳定性均有提升 - There has been a tangible improvement in the efficiency and stability of this year’s robots. [1]
4. 探囊取物 tàn náng qǔ wù
as easy as taking something from a bag, effortless success
在开赛前一周的路测中，荣耀机器人“收着跑”仅发挥七八成功力，就打破了人类最好半马纪录，团队内部当时就觉得，夺冠已是“探囊取物” - After the robot from Honor shattered human records while “’holding back”’ during pre-race testing, the team knew that the race was in the bag. [2]
5. 华山论剑 huà shān lùn jiàn
The Great Sword Duel at Mount Hua; the ultimate showdown
有的队伍14公里就“下线”了，但大家依然很开心。这就是一场“华山论剑” - Some teams didn’t manage to cross the 14-kilometer mark, but everyone was still in high spirits. After all, this wasn’t just a race; it was a true clash of titans in this industry. [4]
Note: From Louis Cha’s wuxia novels The Legend of the Condor Heroes (射雕英雄传) and The Return of the Condor Heroes (神雕侠侣)
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Consuming the Conversation
Useful words
6. 入局 rù jú
to enter the game, to enter a field
手机厂商的入局，正在让竞争格局变得更有意思 - The arrival of the smartphone manufacturer is shaking up the competitive landscape.
7. 噱头 xué tóu
gimmick, publicity stunt
现阶段的赛事并非单纯的营销噱头，而是必要的技术压力测试 - At this stage, the competition is not merely a marketing gimmick, but a technical stress test that is absolutely necessary. [2]
8. 路演 lù yǎn
roadshow, promotional tour
机器人百亿“路演”，能带来什么？ - What can a billion-yuan robot roadshow bring? [4]
9. 竞技 jìng jì
competition, to compete
从隔离展示到同场竞技，人形机器人正在以肉眼可见的速度，走进现实生活 - From robot show at exhibitions to active contenders in the same race, humanoids are making the leap into reality faster than ever before. [1]
10. 打磨 dǎ mó
to polish, to refine
虽然从赛场表现来看，这些能力仍在持续打磨之中 - Although judging from their performance in the race, these capabilities are still being continuously refined. [1]
11. 攻克 gōng kè
to overcome, to tackle
这些也是各大机器人厂商需要重点攻克的课题 - These are also the key challenges that major robot manufacturers are tackling. [1]
12. 闭环 bì huán
closed loop
资本更看重的，是运动能力、操作能力与商业化落地之间能否形成闭环 - What investors really care about is whether locomotion, manipulation, and commercial viability can create a self-sustaining loop. [2]
