Zach Hofer dreams big.

Three years ago, inspired by Terry Fox, the Barrie youth wanted to trek across Canada to raise awareness and money for youth mental illness.

“But we made it smaller because my mom kept saying no,” said Zach, who turns 13 in May.

The family agreed to let Zach fulfil his goal with a journey from Barrie to Ottawa: and Zach Makes Tracks became a reality. Zach will run, walk, bicycle, and scooter to Canada’s capital.

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On Aug. 13, Zach will kick start his 410-kilometre journey at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre. The money he raises will support the hospital’s child and youth mental health services. He will arrive in Ottawa on Sept. 10 for World Suicide Prevention Day.

“I really just don’t like seeing kids with mental health (challenges), so I decided to raise awareness and some funds for kids’ mental health,” Zach said.

Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman and Progressive Conservative leader and Simcoe North MPP Patrick Brown will run alongside Zach on Day 1 of his trek. And Barrie-area MP Alex Nuttall will join him for the last two days. The Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa has pledged to welcome Zach to Ottawa in style.

His dream? “To meet Justin Trudeau.”

Zach is training at Mind to Muscle in Barrie. And he ran his first four kilometres without breaking a sweat. He plans to cover 20 to 25 kilometres per day, with two days off for rest each week. But this is not a strict schedule, noted Zach’s mom, Shelley.

“The whole point is to be really flexible because his safety, and his health, and his body, because he’s growing, is super important. And it’s all about mental health, so if there’s a day where we just don’t feel like doing it and we want to hang back, we’re going to be able to hang back,” she said.