Dawsonite Jack Amos and his friend Joe Robertson, from Victoria, B.C., set out on a 500-kilometre journey to raise money for the 1up Victoria Single Parent Resource Centre.

"Joe and I were raised by single parents," said Amos. "Joe since childhood and me since I was a teenager and my dad suffered a head injury. We both watched how hard it was for our moms. My mom worked so hard.

"We wanted to find a cause to give back. Joe found 1up Victoria and I thought great. We are working hard for all single parents."

1Up Victoria Single Parent Resource Centre is a registered charitable organization that has been committed to serving the varied and changing needs of single-parent families in the Greater Victoria area since 1978.

When the two runners departed, their aim was to raise $10,000 for 1up Victoria Single Parent Resource Centre to help fund counselling, school supplies, clothing and goods, mentoring and education, and parent coaching – as of 9 a.m. today, they were only $280 shy of their goal.

To support Amos and Robertson, you can search Run for 1Up on the gofundme website.

Amos, who spoke to the Star while waiting for Robertson to finish his leg, said he met his running partner in 2017, when he travelled to B.C. to train on a team Robertson was on. They have been friends ever since, he said.

They are taking turns between running and driving their support vehicle – a 1983 Dodge camper van named Pippi. They planned on running about 50 kilometres a day. Amos said they do about 12-kilometre legs before switching to support. It can be longer if they are feeling good.

The journey started in Port Hardy, B.C., and the duo is heading south to Mile 0 in Victoria. Collectively, each has run about 150 kilometres each. When Amos spoke to the Star, they were about 50 kilometres outside of Nanaimo.

Amos said the run has brought some ups and downs for the pair. The good?

"When we talk to people about what we are doing, it makes my day," said Amos. "There are so many people out there that were raised by single parents."

The bad?

"We got into an accident, so we were stressed about that," said Amos. "The van is OK; we did lose a hubcap. The accident also knocked some wires loose, but we have it booked into another guy in Nanaimo."

Outside of the accident, Amos said, the odyssey has been going strong.

"I'm feeling good so far," said Amos. "I've got a bit of pain in my foot, but that is just from running on highways. Joe has a knee condition but he is so strong.

"The scenery is beautiful, aside from the cars and traffic, and if I can manage it, I never want to run in minus 20 ever again."

Amos also wanted to express his love for his hometown of Dawson City.

"There's a lot of people supporting me, so a huge shout-out to Dawson City," said Amos. "I'm not the person I am today without them and a lot of people donated. Thank you."

Both Amos and Robertson have about 100 kilometres left to run, and Amos said he hopes they are done in the next five days. That includes the rest day in Nanaimo for the runners and Pippi.

Amos, a filmmaker and writer, is documenting the run and plans to turn it into a short documentary.