Invicta East Kent AC coach Peter Mullervy on the rises of Canterbury runners Matthew Stonier and Alex Millard

Having worked with Canterbury athletes Matthew Stonier and Alex Millard in their younger days, Invicta East Kent AC coach Peter Mullervy is thrilled to see them beginning to realise their potential.

Both middle-distance runners enjoyed fine 2022 seasons.

Sturry’s Stonier completed a rapid rise to compete at a home Commonwealth Games and also earned a fifth-placed European Athletics Championships finish in Germany.

Millard impressed last year, too, winning a bronze for Great Britain in the under-23 race at the SPAR European Cross-Country Championships in Italy.

She has already been victorious at this year’s BUCS Cross-Country Championships at Pembrey. Millard also helped the senior Great Britain and Northern Ireland team earn a sixth-placed finish in the mixed relay event at the World Cross-Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia.

But Mullervy recalls it was during a Covid lockdown where both started to shine.

“The truth is that Covid is where Matthew found his form because there was no competition,” he said.

“His last year of the English Schools Track Championships, he couldn’t do it. English schools didn’t happen because of Covid.

“But they invited athletes to send their times in and sort of did a virtual English schools’ event.

"I remember going down the track and meeting them both. We fixed up some pacesetters, along with the Small brothers [Louis and Jack] from Ashford.

“Matthew proceeded to run 3min46sec which - as a time trial on a windy and cold evening on the track - was just completely off the scale!

“But because he was too honest, when he submitted his time, he told them when he did it - and he did it two days too early. You had to do your time trial between certain dates so he didn’t get into the English