Unitree claims to internally do a half marathon in a little over 50 minutes preparing for the humanoid marathon in 4 days (average speed: <7.0325m/s). The Human best is Jacob Kiplimo 57m30s (average speed: 6.115m/s)

Chinese robotics firm Unitree has announced a significant milestone in humanoid robotics, claiming its H1 robot completed a half marathon distance of 21.1 kilometers in a little over 50 minutes during internal preparations. This performance translates to an average speed of 7.0325 meters per second, which is notably faster than the average speed of 6.115 m/s achieved by human world record holder Jacob Kiplimo for the same distance. The feat demonstrates a leap in robotic endurance and dynamic stability, key challenges for bipedal machines.

While the achievement is impressive, it's important to note the test conditions permitted battery swaps, meaning the robot did not run the entire distance on a single charge. This highlights that energy efficiency—a critical metric for real-world deployment—remains an area where robots lag behind human biology. Unitree frames this as a baseline, stating "it's the slowest/least efficient they'll ever be," signaling confidence in rapid future improvements. The internal test serves as a warm-up for a public humanoid marathon event scheduled in just four days, where multiple robots from different companies are expected to compete.