'Angry Birds Star Wars' Goes Offline With Nerdy Relay Race

Nerdist's Course of the Force, a week-long relay across California dedicated to Star Wars enthusiasts, is teaming up with Rovio and Angry Birds Star Wars for its second annual lightsaber run this week, which gives geeks some exercise and raises money for charity.

The Course of the Force relay is for Star Wars supporters to celebrate their love for the series, and raise proceeds for the Make-A-Wish Foundations of California. Participants in the relay will be running quarter-mile segments down the California coast in July, with an ultimate destination of San Diego Comic-Con. After running a leg of their race, participants pass off a customized Course of the Force lightsaber to the next runner to continue.

Since it wouldn't be a Star Wars event without some costumes, runners will be wearing an assortment of Jedi robes and Storm Trooper armor as they go.

According to the Course of the Force website, the weekly schedule for the relay is as follows:

July 9-10 – San Francisco
July 11 – The Bay Area
July 12 – Pacific Palisades and Santa Monica
July 13 – Huntington Beach
July 14 – Oceanside
July 15 – Oceanside to Pacific Beach
July 16 – Pacific Beach to San Diego

Aside from the race, there's also a week-long Angry Bird Star Wars tournament where Star Wars-themed Rebel birds face off against the Empire's evil Pigtroopers. These tournaments will be shown live on Facebook during each relay stop.

"Course of the Force is an awesome way to enjoy friendly competition with fellow Star Wars fans and friends, while doing good in the world through helping grant wishes," Rovio VP of Marketing Philip Hickey said. "Angry Birds Star Wars will let everybody participate in the event on Facebook through our special tournament; I'm sure the competitors are happy to continue the contest on the screen after a hard day's run."

Registration for a relay spot is $150, and can be competed on the race's official website. Those who register receive a Course of the Force swag bag with customized Hasbro lightsaber. Fans who can't run the relay are encouraged to donate.

What do you think about the relay? Let us know in the comments below.

1. Angry Birds Line

   Rovio promised to unveil its Angry Birds/Star Wars mashup merchandise at the Times Square Toys R Us. This was the line to get in.

   

2. Die Hard

   A young fan was first in line.

   

3. Chewie Bird

   Press and fans were greeted with an enormous stuffed Chewbacca bird.

   

4. AT-AT

   One of the Angry Birds Star Wars play sets takes place on a modified piggie AT-AT. The pigs have been cast as Empire characters for the tie-in.

   

5. Death Star

   There is also a Death Star play set.

   

6. Boxes

   Box art for the upcoming toys, which are being released by Hasbro.

   

7. Figures

   Some of the tie-in figures, which represent Han Solo and Rebel pilots.

   

8. Jenga

   Hasbro is also releasing a Jenga set for the Battle of Hoth.

   

9. Costumes

   There are also Angry Birds Star Wars Halloween costumes, available in the next couple of days on Toys R Us website and in the Times Square store.

   

10. Red Bird as Luke Skywalker

    The iconic Red Bird has been recast as Luke Skywalker.

    

11. Vader Piggie

    Here is the pig version of Darth Vader, as a plush.

    

12. Tag

    The tags all show the joint branding.

    

13. Storm Troopers

    The pigs are also Storm Troopers, and the plush is available in two sizes.

    

14. Tiny Plush

    Princess Leia and Han Solo also make plush bird appearances.

    

15. Poster

    Each fan that came to Toys R' Us received a poster.

    

16. Toys R Us Birds

    The Times Square Toys R Us also now has its own Angry Birds section for all toys.

    

17. Angry Birds Space

    There are also launchers for Angry Birds Space.

    

18. Backpacks

    Backpacks featuring the Red Bird also populate the Toys R Us.

    

19. Pig Pile

    The whole section surrounds a stack of blocks with King Pig on top.

    

Homepage image courtesy of Rovio