Glory Robot "Lightning" Wins Beijing Half Marathon in 50:26, Breaking Human World Record

On April 19, 2026, the 2026 Beijing Yizhuang Half Marathon暨人形机器人半程马拉松 made history as the world's first humanoid robot marathon. The Glory robot "Lightning" (闪电) completed the 21.0975km course in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, officially surpassing the human half marathon world record of 56 minutes 42 seconds by over 6 minutes. This marks the first time a humanoid robot has defeated human world records in an endurance event, signifying a quantum leap in embodied AI capabilities. The competition attracted over 100 humanoid robot teams competing alongside 12,000 human runners, with 38% of robots using fully autonomous navigation—a dramatic increase from last year's primarily remote-controlled format. This year's event saw a nearly 5x scale expansion, with participation from 11 provinces, 26 robot brands, and 5 international teams from Germany, France, Portugal, and Brazil.