Zach Hofer and more than 100 supporters headed out on foot from Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre for the Barrie teen's marathon for mental health.
The 13-year-old is walking, biking, running and scooting to Ottawa to raise money and awareness for the new Child and Youth Mental Health Unit at RVH.
At a Sunday morning rally at the hospital, the crowd learned that Zach has once again exceeded a new expanded goal of $50,000.
He hopes to be greeted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when he arrives in Ottawa on Sept. 10.
PC leader Patrick Brown spoke at Zach's send-off and MP Alex Nuttall was sporting running gear ready to go.
Mayor Lehman had attended the event to offer well-wishes earlier in the morning.
