Former footballer and Ex On The Beach star Ashley Cain has set himself a mammoth challenge to complete in memory of his baby girl Azaylia who died at just eight months old.
The star’s daughter died after suffering from an aggressive form of leukaemia which she was diagnosed with at just eight weeks old.
She died in 2021 and since then, her devoted dad has dedicated himself to completing tasks and challenges in her name, to raise awareness and money for others diagnosed with rare childhood cancers.
Ashley has now revealed how he has signed up to complete the Yukon 1000 - said to be the world’s toughest survival race. It is also the world’s longest canoe race, where participants battle it out to survive in the wilderness while paddling 1000 miles from Canada to the Arctic Circle.
Who is Ashley Cain?
Aged 32, Ashley Cain is already no stranger to the spotlight.
A talented footballer, he used to play as a winger for the likes of Coventry City, and also had loan spells at newly-promoted Luton, Oxford United, and Mansfield Town.
At the end of his footballing career after suffering an Achilles injury, he took a sideways step into the limelight and entered the world of reality tv. He became known as a personality and a ladies’ man, appearing on the MTV show Ex on the Beach as well as on The Challenge.
After a series of appearances on dating shows, he eventually got with his now ex-partner Safiyya Vorajee and the pair welcomed daughter, Azaylia Diamond Cain into the world in 2020.
At eight weeks baby Azaylia was diagnosed with cancer, an aggressive form of leukaemia named acute myeloid. Together, her parents raised £1.5 million to fund specialist treatment in Singapore, but sadly the baby girl died in April 2021, aged eight months old.
In May 2021, Cain and partner Vorajee announced that they were starting a charity in their daughter’s name to fight childhood cancer.
They split a year after her death, but continue to work on the charity together in memory of their daughter.
What challenge is Ashley Cain doing?
“To the top of every mountain, to the bottom of every valley, along every road, across every ocean - I’ll take you there, baby” - these were the words he spoke at his daughter’s funeral, and this latest challenge shows him staying true to his word.
Cain has announced he is taking on Yukon 1000 - described as the world’s toughest survival race - and said: “When else would I get the chance to take my beautiful baby from Canada to the Arctic Circle to Alaska?”
It is the latest in a long line of challenges Cain has taken part in. He has previously also run five marathons in five days and cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats.
But this is his biggest challenge yet.
The Yukon, which takes place in July, will see him kayak down the Yukon River from Whitehorse in Canada through the Arctic Circle to Dalton Highway Bridge in Alaska in the US.
Participants are given just 10 days to complete the feat which covers 1,000 miles - there are no support teams accompanying them and they have to keep themselves alive in the wilderness.
Cain is taking part alongside teammate, Gary Johnson - a personal trainer, and the pair say they hope to complete it in eight days.
He said: “That will involve 18 hours a day kayaking with one hour to change, pitch your tent and find a safe place to eat your food in case you’re in wolf or grizzly bear territory. Then five hours’ sleep - if you can sleep - to start the day again.
“There’s a lot of things that go against you out there, especially as I’m going to be the least-experienced person by miles to have ever attempted it. I’ve only been kayaking since February.
“I’m big, I’m stocky, it goes against me, but in hospital [with Azaylia] I realised that life is a battle of endurance.
“When I’m struggling, I look up to her and she gives me the strength that I need.”
