Local celebrity Ashley Cain in new 3,000-mile Ultraman trial to ‘create legacy’ for daughter Azaylia

Ashley Cain, from Nuneaton, said completing the run, cycle and row of thousands of miles across Britain would create a “legacy” for his late daughter. The former Coventry City FC footballer is taking on his biggest challenge yet – Ultraman 2024.

The 33-year-old travels from Land’s End to John O’Groats three times – once by running, once by bike and once by kayak – in a journey of almost 3,000 miles. He is now in the running phase of the challenge.

He began the challenge in emotional fashion on April 24, when his daughter Azaylia, after bravely battling acute myeloid leukemia in 2021, aged just eight months. Earlier, he made a vow to his little girl – to carry her name across every ocean, along every road, to the top of every mountain and across the globe.

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Now he says he hopes Ultraman will create a legacy for his daughter while raising money for more childhood cancer research. He and his former partner Safiyya Vorajee set up the Azaylia Foundation in her name to help other children.

He has so far raised more than £30,000 for the foundation and the former TV star told the PA news agency: “The biggest lesson my daughter ever taught me was to always smile, which he made me smile and showed me. that even in your darkest times, when you feel the most pain, you can shine light on others.

“That’s what I hope to carry on in my daughter’s legacy.”

Mr Cain, who previously played for Coventry City, said he takes between 45,000 and 50,000 steps a day, which equates to “50,000 moments of acute, excruciating pain that (he struggles with) every day”.

He added: “But the purpose behind it is enough to push me every time and I always think about who is on the other side of my pain.

“Through the pain I feel, I can inspire a nation to believe that no matter what they’re going through, you can always see light at the end of the tunnel.”

Mr. Cain is raising money for the Azaylia Foundation’s Childhood Cancer Doctoral Fellowship Program, which aims to fund doctoral research in childhood cancer.

“We think with a PhD, that’s the real way to have the biggest impact in childhood cancer by bringing new talent and research into that space,” he said.

He said there was a lack of childhood cancer research, but felt more funding in this area could lead to better overall cancer research for people of all ages.

“Childhood cancer, the number one killer of our children in the UK, gets 3% of cancer research funding and that’s not enough,” he explained.

“There are so many different cancers that have been researched for adults.

“If the biology of cancer in adults matches the biology of childhood cancer, then we want children to be included in that research, and that’s going to help absolutely everybody.”

The former Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins contestant on Channel 4 said she “had to count my daughter’s last breaths and I held her” but hoped carrying on her legacy would make her proud.

“If someone has children, they will know how important their children are to them. Our children are worth more than our lives,” he said.

“The only thing I drive for every day is I hope I make her proud and I never know if I am.

“I never know if I will in the end, but I just hope that if she looks down, she’s proud.”

The goal is to complete the challenge by the end of July and you can visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/ultraman-2024-a-worlds-first-for-childhood-cancer

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