For the young girl he lost to cancer, former professional footballer and reality TV star Ashley Cain is taking on his most difficult challenge to date.
I'll take you there, baby, to the peak of every mountain, the depths of every valley, every road, and every body of water. ".
Ashley Cain made a commitment to carry Azaylia Diamond Cain's name and legacy with him through each and every challenge he would go through as he gave his daughter's eulogy.
When people inquire about his motivation for entering the Yukon 1000, known as the world's toughest survival race, he responds, "When else would I get the chance to take my beautiful baby from Canada to the Arctic Circle to Alaska?".
In October 2020, Azaylia received a diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia. She passed away six months later, at the age of just eight months.
Since then, Ashley—who played for Coventry City and has appeared on TV programs like MTV's Ex on the Beach and BBC's Go Hard or Go Home—has participated in a number of extreme challenges in her honor. Among them were cycling from Land's End to John O'Groats and completing five marathons in the span of five days.
In the Yukon, which takes place in July, he will kayak from Whitehorse, Canada, through the Arctic Circle, to Dalton Highway Bridge, Alaska, in the United States. With only 10 days to finish the 1,000-mile race, 28 two-person crews must be able to survive in the wilderness without the help of support crews, though their progress will be tracked.
In order for Ashley and Gary Johnson, a personal trainer on their team, to finish it in seven to eight days, they will need to travel 120 to 125 miles (193 to 301 km) per day.
"That will require 18 hours a day of kayaking with an hour for changing, setting up your tent, and finding a secure location to eat your food in case you're in wolf or grizzly bear territory," he says. "Followed by five hours of sleep, if you can, to prepare for another day. ".
In addition to the danger of wolf and bear attacks, challengers run the risk of hypothermia if they fall into the choppy waters. Ashley says, "I'm willing to put my life in danger.".
As the person who has attempted it with the least amount of experience, he claims that "there are many things that work against you out there. I only started kayaking in February. ".
Ashley, who is renowned for his speed and strength, claims that these endurance-based long distance challenges are not a good fit for him.
I'm big and stocky, which works against me, he says, but in the hospital with Azaylia, I came to the realization that life is a struggle for endurance. " .
He claims that the only thing you need to concentrate on is your next step in order to get through, and Azaylia is the reason he keeps taking that next step in each challenge.
He says, "I look up to her and she gives me the strength I need when I'm struggling.".
Ashley's memoir, which will be released on June 22nd, is about his relationship with his daughter, her battle for life, and the difficulties he has had to deal with since she passed away.
I found myself slightly spiraling into alcohol after giving Azaylia's eulogy and after she passed away, he claims.
"One morning when I woke up, I was in tears because I felt ashamed and embarrassed. If my daughter is looking down on this person, I should hang my head, I reasoned. '".
He asserts that while he could tell a lie to his parents about whether or not he had consumed alcohol, he could not tell a lie to himself or to Azaylia.
"At that point, I realized that I needed to change and that I had to honor the commitments I'd made to her as well as to myself. ".
Ashley is devoted to raising money and spreading awareness for childhood cancer with his ex-girlfriend Safiyya Vorajee and the foundation they established in their daughter's honor. He claims that there is a severe lack of funding for this field of study.
He claims that the absence of new research implies the absence of new treatments and the absence of new treatments implies the absence of improved statistics.
Ashley claims that what his daughter went through shouldn't happen to any child and that she taught him how to be brave in the face of adversity.
The TV personality claims that during her illness, his Christian faith was put to the test, but he is determined not to let Azaylia's brief life be in vain.
"There must be a reason why what happened occurred, and I won't be that person who turns to stone as a result," the speaker said. For her, for myself, and for those around me, I'm going to write my own happy ending," he declares.
Ashley describes his schedule as relentless, working seven days a week and eighteen hours per day. He claims that because he is committed to the path he is taking and is currently single, it wouldn't be fair to begin a new relationship. Currently, he is also unable to imagine having more children.
He says, "I find it difficult to think that I could love anyone or anything else as much as I love Azaylia.
Ashley claims that by pushing himself to the limit, he is "running head on into it" rather than avoiding the pain of his loss. He wants to demonstrate to others that "there is strength on the other side, no matter how difficult your struggle was.". ".
Because he wants to have the biggest impact for Azaylia, he has chosen to push the boundaries and take life-threatening risks in challenges like the Yukon 1000.
"With that amazing and beautiful life, I'll do something to honor her memory for a very long time. ".
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