COVINGTON, Ga. — Robert Meller was a soccer player in England when his passion for running was born. After moving to America, he began to take running more seriously. His son, Henry, saw that at an early age and started running himself when he was in the fourth grade. 

Since then, the father-son duo has developed quite a special bond together. And, with that, they each have a running partner all the time. 

“Having someone to run with is quite nice, because I would typically run on my own,” Robert said. “After all these years, having someone to run with is pretty special.” 

Henry is a sophomore at Eastside and is a member of the cross country and track teams. Robert is an Associate Professor Neurobiology/Pharmacology at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. 

Robert and his family moved to Covington 12 years ago when he was offered his current position at Morehouse School of Medicine. 

Robert and his wife were looking for a small town to settle in and to live in an old house. Little did they know that they were moving to such a vast running community as well. 

“There’s people now we see and there’s a lot of acknowledgement and people wave when they recognize you,” Robert said. “There’s a neighborhood here and, with all of the trails, it’s really encouraging people to be out and about. When it’s race day, you’ll see a few people you’ve gotten to know.” 

Henry has become so enthralled with running that, when he doesn’t do it after school, it feels weird to his daily routine. And, just like his dad, he has integrated himself into the running community. 

“On the few days I have gone straight home, it’s definitely been awkward when I realize, ‘Hey, I’ve got nothing to do now,’” Henry said. “ But I’ve met tons of people here. I can barely go for a walk without finding someone I know. It’s ingrained in me now. I know everywhere I run, I’ll probably see someone I know.” 

Both have been running together for close to six years. Currently, Henry and Robert still run together every other weekend, on average. According to Robert, there’s been quite the shift between their finishes from when they first started. 

“When we first went on runs, it would be me running ahead and having to slow down,” Robert said. “Now, he’s zooming ahead and I’m having to catch up.” 

Though Henry has surpassed his dad running, Henry recognized his dad as a big motivation for him to improve. Henry can recall special lessons Robert shared with him through the years. 

“I always remember the one thing he would tell me, ‘Run the entire thing. Don’t walk any of it.’ That was a big motivation,” Henry said. “So, everytime I run I always think of that and make sure I’m running the entire race and pushing myself to the limit every mile.” 

It wasn’t until Henry was entering his freshman year at Eastside when he decided to run competitively. His neighbor and teammate, Grayson Poynter, formed a friendship with Henry to help persuade him to give it a shot. 

After running the summer between his eighth and ninth grade years, Henry decided to join the Eagles’ cross country squad. 

“I knew I could run the distance,” Henry said. “I conditioned over the summer and got into it and was like, ‘OK, I’m pretty good at this.’ And I just stuck with it.” 

Henry’s cross country career has taken off during his sophomore year, too. The speed he’s built through running with Robert has helped improve his finishes exponentially. 

In his two meets competing this season, Henry has placed in the top 10. 

Since Henry joined the Eagles’ cross country team his freshman year, he’s noticed a huge increase of runners participating in the program. 

“Our team has grown significantly,” Henry said. “We’ve got five to six new people. We’ve just been bringing people in every single year. So, it’s grown and we have a pretty good size team now.”

Henry can vividly remember the moment he started gaining speed in his running. 

“Running the Covington 5K last year and that is when I was really taking off with my own running style,” Henry said. “I remember just splitting off from him and it seems real symbolic now that I’m at a different stage.” 

In fact, Robert showed Henry at a young age how to approach running hills — it’s a lesson Henry remembers today. 

“An old trick I used to tell him was to count strides going up the hill,” Robert said. “It’s a trick to not think of the hill, but just think of what you’re doing. When he was younger, he would count his strides up hills, but I guess he doesn’t need to now.”  

Now, even though Henry runs competitively with Eastside’s cross country and track teams, he debunked the idea that there’s a competition between him and his dad. Instead, it’s more of an appreciation for each other. 

Henry said that he is always trying to reach Robert’s level of running. 

But Robert feels as if his son has surpassed him has developed into his own runner. 

“You have to let someone find their own style — How they approach long strides, short strides, what running shoes they wear — I think he’s in a stage where there's no point in me trying to coach him,” Robert said. “He has to really develop his own style.”