Star Wars Fans Take To San Francisco’s Streets Thanks To Nerdist Industries’ Course Of The Force

Geek-focused digital media company Nerdist Industries did something kind of amazing in the lead-up to last year’s Comic-Con International — it staged a relay race called the Course of the Force, where fans carried a lightsaber along the California coast to raise money for the Make a Wish foundation.

The company (now owned by Legendary Entertainment) brought the event back this year, and it swung through San Francisco yesterday. You can see footage from the run and my interviews with a few of the participants in the video above — not only was I struck by the awesomeness of some of the costumes (seriously, if you are any kind of science fiction geek, watch for the cross between Iron Man and C-3PO) but also by the diversity of the runners — in terms of age, gender, home city and more.

Adam Borden, who ran his quarter-mile segment while dressed as Boba Fett, told me, “Most Star Wars geeks are stereotyped as out-of-shape and sort of can’t run, so it’s nice to be able to brush away the stereotype and say, ‘Hey look, we’re Star Wars geeks and we’re in shape, too!'”

youtube course of the force

Apparently the relay stopped by a number of Silicon Valley tech offices today. We didn’t tag along for that part, but here’s some photographic evidence.

(By the way, you may notice in the video that I repeatedly refer to the event as “Course for the Force” and that my hair is sticking out kind of weirdly. My only excuse: It was kind of early in the morning.)