Humanoid Robot Shatters Human Half-Marathon Record to Make History

Move aside mouth-breathers, an autonomous humanoid robot has bettered human runners at the Beijing Half Marathon by clocking a world-record time of 50 minutes 26 seconds. While it's not time to hang up your shoes just yet, the future of the sport could involve less electrolytes from Gatorade and more from lithium-ion batteries.

The star of the event, a bipedal model made by smartphone-maker Honor, crossed the finish line of the 13.1-mile course faster than the previous world record set by Jacob Kiplimo of Kenya (50:26 versus 57:20). Second and third place were also held by Honor autonomous units that finished in 51 and 53 minutes respectively.

No doubt, spectators and runners watched in a mix of awe and mild existential dread as the machine (along with other robotic entrants on a separate track from humans) was unaffected by humidity or the lactic acid buildup, pounding ...