Alissa Boardley and her partner Patrick Andersen train for their half-marathon run on Sunday. The race begins at 9 a.m. ET on May 30 in Ottawa. (courtesy CMF Mesothoners)

An Ottawa woman is hoping to raise money to help treat her father's diseased lungs by giving her own lungs a workout on Sunday, as part of the city's annual race weekend.

Alissa Boardley is one of a team of 20 Ottawa residents running in Sunday's half-marathon to raise money for the fight against mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer found in the lungs or abdomen. It's caused by exposure to asbestos.

The 33-year-old said she knew little about the gravity of the disease until after her father was diagnosed with it a year ago. Since then, she's seen its impact first-hand.

"He is such a fighter," said Boardley. "He is the most inspiring man ever, he's so positive. He's been through hell with all the treatments...going through chemotherapy and recently radiation treatment, and both he and my mom are taking it one day at a time."

Her team - dubbed the Mesothoners - has raised $5,000 for the Canadian Mesothelioma Foundation.

Disease takes over 25 years to develop

The foundation's founder, Michael Konviser, said there are about 200 to 300 cases of the disease diagnosed every year. It tends to develop about 25 to 30 years after exposure, said Konviser.

"So this disease will continue to be around for the next 15 to 20 years before falling off," he said. "So it's still an issue."

Konviser said his foundation has raised close to half of the $100,000 they are hoping to raise to fund a fellowship in mesothelioma at Toronto's Princess Margaret Hospital.

Many of the 38,000 runners lacing up this weekend are like Boardley, racing for various causes and raising money for medical research.

The races, closing with Sunday's marathon, are also expected to close many roads in the National Capital Region and draw crowds of thousands of supporters on the streets. Boardley's father Michael is planning on being one of those cheering runners on.

He said he plans on driving from the family cottage on the Bruce Pennisula to be on the race course Sunday.

"One of my desires is to see her run," he said. "I don't know where she gets the running bug from, certainly not my side of the family."

With files from the CBC's Chad Pawson