Ashley Cain reveals agony of Ultraman problem in reminiscence of daughter

Reality star Ashley Cain has revealed the physical agony of his Ultraman challenge in memory of his daughter who died of cancer three years ago.  

The former footballer, 33, is travelling from Land’s End to John O’Groats three times, running the entire distance north before cycling back to the bottom of England and then kayaking back to the top of the Scottish coast – in a journey of almost 3,000 miles.

He has been keeping an online diary of his challenge, dubbed the Ultraman 2024, which he is completing in honour of his daughter Azaylia, who died of cancer in 2021.

Azaylia was born in August 2020 to Cain and his now ex-partner Safiyya Vorajee, an aesthetics practitioner.

So far, the ex-reality star has ran 1,307 miles, according to his Instagram post that featured a video showing Cain’s foot, bloodied and bandaged, with one of his toenails peeling off.

Azaylia was born in August 2020 to Cain (right) and his now ex-partner Safiyya Vorajee (left), an aesthetics practitioner

So far, the ex-reality star has ran 1,307 miles, according to his Instagram post that featured a video showing Cain’s foot, bloodied and bandaged, with one of his toenails peeling off

Cain said his feet, stress fractures and other injuries including tears are now ‘getting a chance to heal’ during the cycling part of his journey.

He added: ‘Trying to grind out over 100 miles a day through all conditions with a completely exhausted mind and body is extremely tough and quite emotionally challenging. But guess what, we keep it moving!

‘I have now ran from the very bottom of England to the very top of Scotland. Then jumped on my bike and cycled from the top of Scotland, crossing the Scottish border yesterday back to the top of England. All in just 38 days.

‘I now have five more days before reaching the very bottom of England before I jump in the kayak to make the whole journey again battling the elemental forces of the sea.

‘Without pain, without sacrifice, we would have nothing. We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.’

Cain has raised over £83,000 so far on his GoFundMe page for The Azaylia Foundation – a charity he co-founded and named after his eight-month-old daughter, who had leukaemia.

His Ultraman challenge began on April 24, marking the third anniversary of Azaylia’s death, and he hopes his feat will create a legacy for his daughter and raise money for childhood cancer research.

Cain said his feet, stress fractures and other injuries including tears are now ‘getting a chance to heal’ during the cycling part of his journey

Cain, pictured previously with Safiyaa, said he has raised £82,635 so far for The Azaylia Foundation – a charity he co-founded and named after his eight-month-old daughter, who had leukaemia 

His ex-partner Safiyya shared an inspirational message alongisde a stunning bikini photo on Wednesday.

Posting on Instagram the 36-year-old captioned the snap with: ‘No one works harder than a girl who realized there’s no one coming to save her.

‘Keep going I see you, I walk with you, besides you and I believe in you we got this keep pushing.’

It came after Cain welcomed a son earlier this year, named Alias, with an old friend and paid tribute to his late daughter by using her middle name, Diamond.  

Shortly before Cain’s baby announcement post on social media, Safiyya took to Instagram to share a selfie captioned: ‘A brave face is sometimes all we have when getting by in this world.

‘If you’re wearing yours today keep going. You’re not alone because I’m wearing mine. Be kind to others you never know what they’re going through.’

Later in the day, Safiyya revealed she’d paid a visit to Azaylia’s grave to light a candle, and told her followers that after seeing a stunning sunset, she knew her little girl was watching over her.