Jonathan Howard made a stop in Barrie Saturday on his marathon across Canada to raise awareness about autism.

Howard was accompanied by two-time Paralympian Terry Robinson, Barrie MP Patrick Brown and others as he made his way to the Autism Ontario booth at Kempenfest where he was greeted with applause.

“I’m almost at 3,500 km, almost at the halfway point,” he said. “I’m excited to be here in Barrie.”

Howard is running coast-to-coast raising awareness and, hopefully, $2.5 million for charities that work with autistic children and their families along the way.

“Running across Canada was always a dream of mine, and I knew that I wanted to do it for a cause that needs attention,” he said.

“ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) affects one in 165 children born. People need to know that. There needs to be more support services and there has to be more research and education in the public about it.”

Howard started his run in St. John’s, Nfld, in March and will finish when he reaches Victoria B.C. in December.

He said the trip has been going well so far, but he’s been busy.

“Not only am I doing six marathon distances a week, I am doing one to two fundraisers a week. But the word’s getting out there.”

For more on Howard and his run, click the link provided