Ashley Cain raises £37k in memory of baby daughter

Ashley Cain has completed 488 miles of the Ultraman 2024 challenge so far.

Former footballer Ashley Cain has raised almost £37,000 as part of his physical challenge to raise money in memory of his baby daughter.

The 33-year-old from Nuneaton is travelling from Land's End to John O'Groats three times, a journey of almost 3,000 miles, with 488 miles completed so far.

He has taken on the challenge in memory of his eight-month-old daughter Azaylia, who died from a rare form of leukaemia in April 2021.

The mammoth challenge, which includes running, cycling and kayaking, began on 24 April, marking the third anniversary of her death.

Mr Cain, who previously played for Coventry City, was filmed high-fiving fans on Sunday after covering more than 488 miles of the challenge he calls the Ultraman 2024.

Money raised will provide funding for the Azaylia Foundation's Childhood Cancer PhD Scholarship Programme, which aims to fund PhD research into childhood cancer.

"We believe that 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 research into childhood cancer, 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, they receive 3% of cancer research funding and that's not enough," he said.

'Daughter's legacy'

"If anybody 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 ever drive for every day is, I hope I'm making her proud and I never know if I am."

Mr Cain hopes to complete his challenge by the end of July and has a£100,000 Go Fund Me target.