After three decades in the military, Maj. Mark Campbell has been working his way through a different kind of boot camp.

Campbell has been confined to a wheelchair since losing his lower legs to a roadside bomb in Afghanistan two years ago.

"You go to war, you roll the dice, right?" he says.

Now he and a dozen other soldiers who were injured in Afghanistan are training to walk, run or roll the annual Army Run marathon in Ottawa on Sunday.

An estimated 15,000 members of the military and civilians have registered to take part in the race. That's up from 11,000 last year -- making it the fastest-growing run in the country.

But a small group of competitors, that includes Campbell, had the benefit of learning from the best: single-leg amputee record holder Rick Ball.

"They're young, fit, tough soldiers, and they don't want to sit at home and watch TV all day," Ball said. "They want to do something."

Money raised from the event will go to the Military Families Fund, which supports families while soldiers are away, and to Soldier On, which helps soldiers who are ill or injured.

The head of the army, Lieut.-Gen. Peter Devlin, says there's a reason the race is garnering so much attention.

"Canadians are fiercely proud of what we on behalf of them accomplish around the world and Sunday is an opportunity to celebrate that," Devlin says.

Participating in the race should help benefit soldiers like Master Corporal Adam Cyr, a single amputee.

"It's something you just got to adapt to, just get over it," he says of his injury.

But that process can be an uphill battle. In Campbell's case, he says that going back to the army base now can be difficult.

"It stabs me in the heart," he says. "I see soldiers running around doing what I used to do, falling out of airplanes."

But he still considers himself one of the lucky ones. Days after his own accident, 26-year-old Capt. Jonathan Snyder was killed by roadside bomb.

"I was lucky enough to come home missing a few bits and pieces, but at least I got to come home," Campbell said. "Jon didn't get to come home."

With a report from CTV's Daniele Hamadjian and CTV Ottawa's Norman Fetterley