US runner maps running routes based on Star Wars characters

The iconic Star Wars villain Darth Vader has been recreated as a 24.9km running route. PHOTOS: EPA/INSTAGRAM

A fitness buff from the US has channelled his inner Star Wars fan by mapping out running routes that formed the outlines of characters and space crafts from the iconic film franchise.

Portland resident Gene Lu, who used the fitness tracking app Nike+ to plot his courses, shared his creativity on his personal Instagram page last week.

Unfortunately, Mr Lu appears to be more attuned to the dark side of the Force - the four routes he has mapped so far are of Darth Vader, a stormtrooper, a TIE fighter and an AT-AT combat walker.

A stormtrooper and an AT-AT walker were two of the four routes mapped by Mr Lu. PHOTOS: @GENELU/INSTAGRAM

The Darth Vader route is by far the most challenging of the four and measures a lung-bursting 15.5 miles (24.9km).

The shortest recorded is the TIE fighter route at around 4.6 miles.

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One of the routes is accompanied by a caption advising runners who are interesting in retracing his footsteps.

"To run for the Dark Side, use the Force. And a phone," Mr Lu wrote.

The BBC reported that drawing pictures with a running app has been gaining traction in recent times.

Last December, Portsmouth native Ben Chudley proposed to his girlfriend Olivia Abdul by spelling out the sentence "Will you marry me" with a GPS tracking app.

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