Ashley Cain admits he is ‘mentally, physically and emotionally battered’ during gruelling Ultraman challenge as he opens up about his beautiful co-parenting relationship

Ashley Cain has revealed he is ‘mentally, physically and emotionally battered’ as he takes on the final stage of his grueling Ultraman challenge.

The former footballer, 33, told MailOnline exclusively that he doesn’t really enjoy running but is fueled by the heartbreak of losing his daughter to cancer.

Azaylia, who he welcomed with his ex-partner Safiyya Vorajee, 36, tragically passed away in April 2021 from leukemia.

Since her devastating death, he has dedicated his days to taking on near-impossible challenges and has endured blood, sweat and tears to keep his daughter’s “legacy alive.”

Ashley, who is also father to six-month-old Aliyas, admitted the pain of the challenge was the “least of his worries” but he suffered some serious injuries.

He told MailOnline: ‘I’m mentally battered, I’m physically battered and I’m emotionally battered. I think the physical pain is the least of my worries because mentally I think if you want it enough and it means enough to you, you can always push through that and move past it.

‘I have now had several tears in my muscles. I have run the last six marathons with stress fractures in my shins.”

Just days ago, Ashley revealed the physical pain in an Instagram post with a video showing his foot, bloodied and bandaged, with one of his toenails peeling off.

Not only has he taken on physical dangers, but he has also revealed some of the dangerous conditions he has survived.

Ashley confessed that he once realized at sea that he was surrounded by ‘hundreds of thousands’ of jellyfish and that when he paddled to Scotland he was confronted head-on with the risks of killer whales and killer whales.

The very real dangers he has faced on a daily basis have made previous experiences that would have upset him, such as road rage and getting screwed, now seem not worth the upset.

He said: ‘It’s not normal, but then I start to understand what the seriousness is. So if I come back and I see maybe a negative comment, it doesn’t really matter.

“I just think the person the comment was made to probably didn’t get out of bed that day. They are probably very unhappy in their house and what they have to say has no impact on my life whatsoever.

“But I can make sure I impact my life and hundreds, if not millions, of other people’s lives every day by doing what I do.”

But as the former Coventry City player pushes himself to the limit, Ashley revealed he doesn’t really enjoy the physical aspect of the challenge and has begun the quest to keep a positive attitude and stay close to Azaylia.

He told MailOnline: ‘I don’t like running. I don’t like cycling. I don’t like being at sea every day, but I have never felt better afterwards, and I will always feel better afterwards than before I started. And that’s the key.

‘It’s that delayed gratification and that’s what we need sometimes in life and being here and facing this like I’m fighting for my life every day in the sea, that’s not safe, we’re not paddling on the beach, we paddling in the waters there.

“We’ve seen dolphins, we’ve seen seals, we’ve seen sharks.”

Ashley told MailOnline about his ‘beautiful’ co-parenting relationship with the mother of his son Aliyas.

He revealed that although he and Aliyas’ mother, who has not been identified, are not together, they will remain friends because they love and respect each other.

The father told MailOnline: ‘We remain friends and we are co-parenting. We have a very good relationship, so it will stay that way.

It was really wonderful to get along, not amicably, but so good, even better, we both have Aliyas’ best interests at heart.

‘We both have love and respect for each other. And we both just want to be the best parents we can. And don’t just enjoy our son, but above all let us enjoy our lives and life.

‘So we do everything. It’s very comfortable. It’s very easy. And we make the best decisions based on our son, so great.”

The pair have been friends since they were 18 and have reportedly dated on and off over the years.

Ashley has raised more than £100,000 for the charity set up in memory of his daughter through his 4,780-mile Ultraman Challenge, which started on April 24 (the anniversary of Azaylia’s death) and will end on July 25.

He travels from Land’s End to John O’Groats three times, walking the entire distance north before cycling back to the bottom of England and then kayaking back to the top of the Scottish coast.

Ashley is running the world’s first 95-day campaign for the Azaylia Foundation, which raises vital funds for childhood cancer.

Ashley’s eight-month-old daughter Azaylia tragically passed away after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia shortly after her birth.

Since then, Ashley has campaigned tirelessly for the thousands of children battling cancer every day in Britain and helped set up the Foundation in his daughter’s name.

No stranger to physical challenges, in Azaylia’s memory, Ashley has run several marathons and ultramarathons, cycled the length of Britain, kayaked 1,000 miles and climbed one of the highest peaks in the world, but the Ultraman Challenge is his biggest yet so far.

As well as raising over £106,000 for the Azaylia Foundation to date, Ashley hopes to set a world record and become the first person to complete a challenge like this.

Ashley said, “I’m doing this for my daughter, Azaylia, and to fight childhood cancer, the disease that took her from me.

‘It’s 4,780 miles of physical endurance and mental strength, but for me it’s about turning the pain of losing my beautiful daughter into purpose, and I know I will have the guidance and protection of my little hero, who watches me from above. day.

‘There are thousands of children like Azaylia who fight cancer every day. The pain of losing her is nothing compared to taking on this challenge and I will push myself as hard as I can to continue the fight against this cruel disease.

‘Childhood cancer is the number one killer of our children and I hope that with this challenge we can raise much more awareness, get much more funding and enable a better future for these children. Let’s become champions!’