Run to Comic-Con: Course of the Force Begins Saturday!

Headed to Comic-Con next week? In Southern California this weekend? Well, you could actually RUN to Comic-Con - and it's all for a great cause!

Lucasfilm, Ltd., Nerdist Industries, and Octagon invite any and all interested to run the Course of the Force, the "inaugural Star Wars lightsaber relay" benefitting the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  Participants will run in an Olympic Torch-style relay, ultimately making the non-trivial trek from the Santa Monica Pier to San Diego, just in time for SDCC. In true nerd fashion, runners will be entrusted to carry a "torch" in the form of a limited edition Hasbro Ultimate FX Lightsaber. (Sadly, you will have to take it out of the package.)

The total run will take place from July 7 - 11, and the festivities begin tomorrow at 10:00 AM PDT with a kickoff event at the Santa Monica Pier. Spectators can attend to cheer on the runners for free, while listenining to live music from the Spazmatics, buying merchandise, and meeting the big man himself, Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca.)

At 1:00 PM, the first segment launches with CotF Master of Ceremonies and Nerdist Industries Founder Chris Hardwick and a crew of Make-A-Wish kids running the first quarter mile.  Along the way, Chris will be joined by co-hosts Alex Albrecht, Alison Haislip, and Ashley Eckstein, along with other midichlorian-blooded fan favorites like Zachary Levi, Michael Rosenbaum, and the ladies of Team Unicorn.

Runners can sign up for their quarter-mile segments of the multi-day relay at http://courseoftheforce.com/registration/. All registration proceeds will go to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. To find out when the relay will be making it to your area of SoCal, be sure to check the schedule here: http://courseoftheforce.com/schedule/

Can't make it? You can still check out the awesomeness as parts are streamed live on StarWars.com and the Nerdist Channel on YouTube.