Robots on legs are hilariously bad at running marathons

Robots and humans raced against each other at a half-marathon on April 19th in Beijing.

21 robots trotted around the 13.1-mile course in a first-of-its-kind clash between human and machine.

I spend a borderline-healthy amount of free time training for long-distance races like half and full marathons. Right now, I’m training for a long-distance triathlon in Roth, Germany, this Summer. So I was fascinated to learn about the race.

Could a robot finally beat a human?

The rules for the robots entering were clear: resemble a human (they interpreted that one liberally) and walk or run the course (no wheels permitted).

The leading robot crossed the finish line after a rather unimpressive 2 hours and 40 minutes. It stopped for a battery charge… three times. A few robots gave up navigating the course and only finished after their operator guided them home… with leashes. Most didn’t finish.

Jiang Guangzhi, director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, told AP:

“Some robots may not run elegantly or fall over and that’s normal. We’re still testing various technical approaches.”

They’ve a long way to go. For context, Ugandan runner Jacob Kiplimo holds the world record for racing a half marathon in 56 minutes and 42 seconds. Any amateur runners with a bit of training could easily beat one of these robots.

Granted, a robot even taking part is a tech feat, but AI and machines won’t be changing this sport anytime soon. AI, despite the doomsayers, will never eliminate the need for human creativity either.

But it can cut down energy-draining tasks that deplete your creative batteries. It’s also crazy fast at taking what’s in your head and turning it into a finished product.

Over the past few months, I’ve relied on AI to create lead magnets for growing my email list and landing pages for selling my courses. I’ve even vibe-coded online tools like this one into existence with the right prompts, for kicks.

Working like this frees me up to spend less time in front of my laptop and more time training.

Much like a robot that can’t navigate a half-marathon course without help, AI still needs your guidance to generate the best results.

If you need help mastering AI, check out PromptWritingStudio. Every week, I provide practical prompts and frameworks you can use to take charge of AI. I even used one of the prompts I teach inside of this course to turn AI into a coach that tells me what to do to train for my next race.