TWO Cwmamman football teammates have completed a 100-mile running challenge to help support a mental health group.

Keena Hinds and Joe Lewis, both 18, took on the challenge to run the miles throughout the month of August.

The duo said it was because of the support of their club, Cwmamman United, that they decided to run for local Amman Valley mental health group, Shadows.

Joe, from Llandybie said: "We initially saw someone online running for a cancer charity, so we had a chat and decided to do the same thing but for Shadows.

"Mental health is spoken a lot in the club so it seemed like the right cause to support."

Shadows Depression Support Group is a self-funded mental health group based in the AFC hut at Cwmaman park.

Shadows was set up by Louise Craik in January 2017 and runs on a voluntary basis.

Keena, from Glanamman, said: "Covid-19 has been a big struggle for some people who have not been able to go out every day, particularly at the beginning of lockdown. We think it is important to raise awareness of charities like Shadow's who can give support to people in these tough times."

Keena and Joe also wanted to use the challenge to highlight men and mental health - particularly in sport.

"People don't think that men would discuss these kind of issues," added Keena. "By taking part in this challenge we hope to be able to encourage more men and boys to talk about their feelings."

Despite being athletic the boys admitted the challenge was tough.

Joe said: "We play football but we are not used to the long-distance running, especially when we had huge storms during August, they were no fun."

Keena and Joe completed their challenge on August 28 and raised £500.

Keena said: "We finally finished the challenge with a few days to spare. It’s been a long month but it feels really good to have finally done it. Joe and I would like to thank everyone for their support and donations, it means so much to us and we appreciate it greatly."