2nd Beijing humanoid robot half-marathon: Honor Lightning beats the human record

2026-04-19 · Publisher : Beijing E-Town · Domain : Robotics

At Beijing's 2nd humanoid robot half-marathon, Honor's robot Lightning covers the 21.1 km in 50 min 26 s under autonomous navigation, below the human world record of 57 min 20 s. A year earlier, the winner took 2 h 40.

### What changes On April 19, 2026, at the 2nd edition of the Beijing humanoid robot half-marathon (Beijing E-Town), Honor's robot Lightning crossed the line in 50 min 26 s under autonomous navigation. It beat the human half-marathon world record of 57 min 20 s, set by Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo the previous month in Lisbon. ### Specifications | Item | 2025 | 2026 | |---|---|---| | Winning time | 2 h 40 min 42 s (Tiangong Ultra) | 50 min 26 s (Honor Lightning) | | Teams | 20, 6 of which finished | more than 100 | | Race modes | remote control | remote control or autonomous | New rule: remote-controlled robots had their times multiplied by 1.2 to encourage autonomy; about 40% of teams chose autonomous navigation. Robots and human runners used the same route in separate lanes. According to IEEE Spectrum, Honor gave each of Lightning's four leg motors its own liquid-cooling circuit. ### Why it matters In one year, the best time was cut by more than a factor of three. The race remains a showcase (several robots fell or veered off course), but it measures very real progress in endurance, thermal management and autonomous navigation, building blocks useful far beyond sport. ### Key takeaways A bipedal robot faster than the best human runner over 21 km: this symbol defines 2026. It also marks the arrival of Honor, a smartphone maker, among serious humanoid players.

Tags : Humanoïde, Chine, Compétition, Bipède, Autonomie