Man Walks Across Australia In Stormtrooper Armor to Raise Money For Kids

Jacob French is a real life Stormtrooper. He's a member of the 501st Legion, a volunteer organization whose members wear the iconic white armor to Star Wars-related events. But unlike the Stormtroopers in the world George Lucas created, these soldiers are the good guys, and the events they show up at are often for charity.

But for French's biggest act of charity he did a lot more than just show up. Wearing his full-body Stormtrooper costume, French walked 3,106 miles across Australia, from Perth to Sydney, to raise over $100,000 for the Starlight Children's Foundation, which provides programs to entertain sick kids in hospitals.

French explained where he got the idea for the 'troopertreck' back in July 2011, which is when he set off on the journey that ended earlier this week.

In October 2010 I participated in the RunMelb Half marathon (21kms) in my stormtrooper suit. The suit was restrictive and got quite hot while I was running, but the seed was planted for the troopertrek idea. Since the marathon, I have started to train regularly for this event and have acquired a much lighter and flexible set of armour that will be trimmed for better movement. I am hoping that by choosing to wear stormtrooper armour I will be able to gather more attention for the cause I am running for and have a bit of a laugh along the way.

Along the way French lost 26 pounds and went through seven pairs of shoes. Check out more photos from his adventure below.