Jay leads way as Cymru Premier champions Nomads raise £15,000 for mental health charity

Connah’s Quay Nomads have proved they are champions off the field as well as on it by raising more than £15,000 for a mental health charity.

For the past 10 months the Cymru Premier League title holders have been staging various events in aid of MIND.

Leading the way has been club director of football Jay Catton. On Sunday, the fund stood at £14,388 and Jay took on the London Marathon determined to raise the £612 needed to hit the £15,000 barrier.

And he did just that, completing the gruelling run and gathering £616 in sponsorship to end the day on £15,004.

Back in January, Jay raised £5,690 from the 200 Miles Challenge.

The following month, the Nomads Academy played their big part, collecting £7,684 from the 1 Mile A Day venture.

Another £834 was raised through the Three Peaks Challenge in June and next it was the big one for Jay – the London Marathon.

His cause was far from helped by sustaining an ACL injury in March, but he adapted his whole training and running style to give himself a fighting chance of finishing the London.

A recent 20-mile ‘trial run’ he described as ‘horrendous’ proved worth the pain as it no doubt helped Jay complete the marathon two weeks later.

Before Sunday’s event, Jay said: “Appreciate everyone’s help and support to date on an already incredible amount of money raised for a charity which has helped so many during COVID and over the last two years in particular.

“Special mention to Matt Steel physio and Jack Sullivan conditioning coach for getting me physically to a point to even attempt this in two weeks.

“Committing 100% to a new strengthening plan and program to rehab ACL rather than fifth surgery has been incredible and huge thanks to both.”

And when the £15,000 target was reached, Jay added: “An incredible achievement all involved.”

Jay’s page is still open for donations. Log on to

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jay-catton1