The Force, the Jedi and Comic-Con Are Coming

In a galaxy very, very near, dozens of runners, celebrities and intergalactic heroes and villains will join Forces to raise $100,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation during the first-ever Course of the Force Star Wars relay to Comic-Con.

It will be hard to miss.

Starting Saturday at the Santa Monica Pier, runners—many dressed as Star Wars characters—are trekking down the coast from Santa Monica to San Diego’s Comic-Con 2012 on Wednesday. Accompanied by a replica of Jabba the Hutt’s sail barge, runners will head down the coast dressed as Darth Vader, Princess Leia and Jedi knights.

“It is like an Olympic Torch relay, but instead of a torch we use a light saber,” said Course of the Force spokesman Adam Harris. “Our event is a Star Wars tribute to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. It’s a lead-up to the convention—it’s the yellow brick road to Comic-Con.”

Each participant will run a quarter mile and donate $500 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Participants include celebrities such as Glee’s Vanessa Lengies, Chuck’s Zachary Levi, Smallville’s Michael Rosenbaum, ESPN’s Neil Everett and comedians Drew Carey and Chris Hardwick.

“It will turn heads,” said Harris. “We’re not shutting down roads. We’ll be integrated with the traffic, but it will be hard to miss.”

At various legs of the race, Course of the Force will stop running and start partying, with live music from Dan the Band (the band that plays in scenes from Old School and The Hangover), guest appearances, costumed characters and Star Wars and Comic-Con merchandise sales.

The relay will start at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Santa Monica Pier, head through Seal Beach down Pacific Coast Highway on Sunday afternoon on the way to the Huntington Beach Pier and ending Wednesday in San Diego. Click here for a complete schedule and route. 

Conival (celebration) schedule