Balancing the hustle of modern parenting with a dedication to fitness is no small feat, but Red Dot Running Company Ambassadors Anselm Chellah, Joey Gan, and Chris Timms make it look effortless. These dads combine their passion for sports with family life. From early morning workouts to weekend races, they show how staying fit can be a family affair. Discover their stories and tips on how to motivate your children to get out, get active, and enjoy it.
Balancing Act: Athletics and Parenting
Anselm Chellah is a father of two and a fitness enthusiast whose journey began with running, football, and basketball in his youth. Now a dedicated member of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Anselm maintains peak physical fitness through marathons, Spartan races, and Hyrox competitions. His training routine is a hybrid blend of running and weightlifting, with regular sessions alongside friends on Thursday nights and Sunday mornings. Anselm embodies discipline, focus, and the importance of balance with a weekly rest day.
Red Dot Running Company (RDRC): Hi Anselm, how do you manage to balance your training schedule with the responsibilities of parenting? Are there any strategies or routines that you've found particularly effective?
Anselm Chellah (AC):The first thing I did was get my wife involved. Once she realized that everything I did was doable, tiring yet fun, it became easier to encourage the kids to be active. It started with them just hanging out while we exercised at Evans Road stadium, and later, during COVID, they participated in Zoom workouts for kids. My daughter even tried her hand at planning the workouts and demonstrating the exercises. It's important to make them feel valued and part of your lifestyle. I always set aside time to encourage them to go cycling, rollerblading, or even play pickleball, a sport my son and I recently picked up.
RDRC: How do you encourage your child or children to participate in sports or physical activities? Are there specific sports you enjoy doing together as a family?
I always felt that participating in sports instills discipline and builds a sense of camaraderie among teammates. My kids are always amazed at how and why I can play most sports. I always encourage them to try and see how it works for them as well. One important thing is that I teach and participate with them, starting from cycling to rollerblading, badminton, and football. I’ve always focused on guiding them to learn the basics first. Currently, we play badminton, pickleball, and cycle together. The best part is that we have a young puppy who loves to run, which means that we often have to run after him.
RDRC: What are some of the challenges you face in maintaining your athletic pursuits while managing your responsibilities as a dad? How do you address these challenges?
AC: Time is always limited, and there are days when I wish I had clones to do everything for me. Over the years, I've gradually moved away from team sports, which require more time for practice and games. I’ve also changed the location of my workouts to my neighborhood so I can spend at least two hours with my family, leading the workouts.
RDRC: How does being a father motivate you to stay fit?
AC: At the moment, I just want to be able to participate in any race or event with either my son or daughter. I hope that my determination to stay healthy and keep my body fit as I age, along with my wife's, influences them to understand how it will affect their lifestyles in the future.
RDRC: Are there any memorable moments where being a dad and an athlete intersected in a particularly meaningful way?
AC: I will always remember when my daughter took part in a kids' Spartan race and immediately asked when she could do it again. Last year, both kids participated in another Spartan race, which was my son's first. Watching them go as fast as they could made me proud as a dad, knowing they were set on the right course.
RDRC: What would you like for Father's Day, and why?
After recently celebrating Mother's Day with my wife, I told my family to save their money for my birthday because I want a rower. I also hope to travel overseas either this year or next to participate in a Hyrox race.
Meet Chris Timms, a proud father to Bella, Issac, and Emilia and also a keen running enthusiast. His passion for sports began at a young age, and running has always held a special place in his heart. Starting as a sprinter, Chris transitioned to cross-country running, where he discovered endurance running. For him, the challenge and balance provided by endurance running are what drives his love for the sport.
Red Dot Running Company (RDRC): Hi Chris, what does your training or workout routine look like in a regular week?
Chris Timms (CT): Since moving to Singapore eight years ago, I have enjoyed focusing on my running more seriously and training for races more purposefully.
My training week is quite simple. I try to run 3-4 times a week, incorporating track, trail, easy runs, and tempo runs into my running diet. With a hectic day job as Deputy Headteacher of an International school and the demands that being a father of 3 brings, I run when I can. I love how running is flexible, and you can squeeze an hour in here and there.
RDRC: As a father and an athlete, how do you manage to balance your training schedule with the responsibilities of parenting? Are there any strategies or routines that you've found particularly effective?
CT: Adventuring in the outdoors with my children helps me with my training. We walk a lot outdoors and on the local trails. My children also run or cycle with me, which helps combine spending time with my family and training. For this to work well, the children really need to enjoy it, and it needs to be driven by them. Fortunately, my kids enjoy spending time outdoors, as, like me, they enjoy the feeling that this gives them. Fostering the love of the outdoors and exercise in my children is really important to me as I know how important it is to lead a healthy, happy life. The best strategy for helping to balance this is making effective use of the available time, prioritising it, and seeing training as something that can happen with your family.
RDRC: How do you encourage your children to participate in sports or physical activities? Are there specific sports you enjoy doing together as a family?
CT: First and foremost, I believe that we must act as role models for our children and that we must model the type of person we want our children to become. The enjoyment factor must sit high when we are talking about children. If they enjoy it, they will want to do it. Our job as parents is to encourage them to do this and make it fun for them.
I love running to places while my family cycles along with me. This really is a great way to get out and explore. The kids enjoy cycling along, and I run behind them, usually trying to catch up with them. I also enjoy long family nature walks where we try to spot as much wildlife as possible. Singapore really is fabulous for that!
RDRC: What are some of the challenges you face in maintaining your athletic pursuits while managing your role as a dad? How do you address these challenges?
CT: The biggest challenge is recognizing that training and creating a family culture for exercise and the outdoors takes time and effort. I also need to inspire my children to want to stay fit and choose to adventure outdoors rather than sit in front of their iPads. I think the biggest challenge I have is fitting the running in so that I do not miss time with the kids. Running while they are in enrichment clubs or training sessions works well. Keeping myself motivated is tough, particularly after a long day.
RDRC: How does being a father influence your motivation? Are there any memorable moments where being a dad and an athlete intersected in a particularly meaningful way?
CT: One of my motivations for continuing training and racing is that I want my children to be proud of me and see that anything is possible. Endurance running is one of the few physically demanding sports where we can get better and faster with age. I am motivated by being a little faster each year and reversing the aging process!
I have a challenge with my son, who is trying to catch up with me. I told him that I will give him $1000 if he is faster than me. This is motivating both of us, as I don't want to part with any cash, and he is desperate to beat me.
I secretly want him to be, of course, and I'm sure it won't be long before he catches me up!
RDRC: What would you like for Father's Day, and why? Could be anything - an experience, a product, etc, go wild!
CT: I drive my wife crazy when I say this, but I genuinely have everything I want and need. I love experiencing things with my family, but one of my favourites is watching the sunrise and set with them after a long walk. If I could ask for one thing right now, it would be to be up a volcano somewhere, watching the sun rise together.
Joey Gan is a 41-year-old outdoor enthusiast, and father to six-year-old, Toby. Joey's journey into sports began during his school days when he joined the Victoria School cross-country running team. Under the guidance of his PE teacher and XC coach, Mr. Ho Kiat Chong, Joey was part of the teams that won the C and B Division titles. This kicked off a love for running that has stayed with him throughout his life.
Joey's interests later expanded to include cycling, particularly mountain biking, during his university years. He represented his local bike shop in MTB races, and placed 3rd overall in the 2007 MTB season.
Red Dot Running Company (RDRC): Hi Joey, could you share with us how you got into Ultras and how being a dad has impacted your approach to sport and competition?
Joey Gan (JG): The ultra trail bug bit me good in my 30s and I completed several 50kms and a 100km. All this while, I still continued to ride as a form of cross-training, and dabbing in a few road cycling races. In 2018, I ditched my aging mountain bike for a cyclocross bike and trained hard enough to place 3rd at the National Cyclocross Championships.
That level of training intensity and racing took a back seat when Toby arrived at the end of the same year. My priorities have definitely changed: instead of training for a race, I’ve reframed my fitness goals to “being life-proof” and being a healthy dad to Toby.
Now with Toby being older, and in wanting to inspire him, I’ve regained the desire to compete and signed up for a 22km local trail run in August and am looking at the UTBM Chiang Mai 50km Trail Ultra in December.
RDRC: What does your training or workout routine look like in a regular week?
JG: I started training in earnest in Jan 2024 and a typical training week looks like this:
Mon: Easy run or walk with weighted vest with my wife, Pris. Or rest if I had a big weekend of training.
Tue: Strength training with Pris at our nearby F45 gym.
Wed: Easy run for at least an hour.
Thur: Strength work with Pris, followed by my own run.
Fri: Easy run for at least an hour.
Sat: Easy short run + bike with Toby.
Sun: Long run with Fartlek (at least 1.5 hrs)
Training has been good and enjoyable so far, probably helped by the fact that I’ve been maintaining base fitness all the while before that.
RDRC: How do you manage to balance your training schedule with the responsibilities of parenting? Are there any strategies or routines that you've found particularly effective?
JG: I do all my training very early in the morning; I wake up as early as 4:45 am on the days I have a longer session. I find that this is the only time that is “protected” from the busyness of life and work. I find that this helps prepare me for the day ahead - knowing that I’m devoted time to myself, I feel ready to give my all during the rest of the day.
A crucial success factor, something which I’m very grateful to Pris for as she was very disciplined about it, was training Toby to go to bed early and to be able to sleep on his from a young age. Having him sleep well in his own room ensured that we ourselves had time to get in quality rest. That explains why I’m able to get up at 4:45 am, train, and still be able to function fully as a dad after that. The best thing is that when we are back home from our training, Toby wakes up rested and in a good mood, which is a big bonus haha. He is 6 now, and recently he even asks us how our run/gym session went when we wake him up in the morning.
RDRC: How do you encourage your children to participate in sports or physical activities? Are there specific sports you enjoy doing together as a family?
JG: I think just being a role model to Toby was an important first step in getting him interested in sports. He knows we are both active parents, and he has seen the emphasis we’ve placed on personal fitness.
We also believe that everyone should be equipped with three important sports skills: riding a bike (Toby started riding two wheels at age 3), being swim safe (he recently received his SwimSafe cert), and being comfortable with general athletics. The last point is important as it forms the basis of most sports and it is also the foundation of leading an active lifestyle. Being comfortable with being tired, pacing yourself etc are such core skills that are transferable to all aspects of life. And for a boy, it also sets you up for success when you eventually have to serve National Service. I personally benefited from the mental toughness that came from years of competitive long distance running and bike racing.
As a family, we enjoy cycling together and we try to do this once a week on Sundays. On Fridays, we bring Toby to Cub Zoom (track and field club for kids) and we usually do our own run along the track while he has his session.
RDRC: What are some of the challenges you face in maintaining your athletic pursuits while managing your role as a dad? How do you address these challenges?
JG: I think the main challenge is carving out time to train and rest, and trying to be a good dad by being present after a hard workout. I feel this especially on Saturdays when I’m solo with Toby. Typically I would have trained in the morning and then we usually will head out to ride our bikes or play outdoors after breakfast. And usually by then all I want to do is chill and zone out. But I do not want to miss the precious opportunities to go ride with him in the park, fly a kite, or go swimming etc. So I usually tell myself that I gotta suck it up and show up for him. If I don’t, I will regret letting all these moments slip by.
RDRC: What motivates you to continue your athletic pursuits and how does being a father influence your motivation? Are there any memorable moments where being a dad and an athlete intersected in a particularly meaningful way?
JG: My motivation is to be fit and healthy so that I can continue to enjoy growing up with Toby for as long as I can. I want to be able to run, ride, and play with him. I want to be a role model for him so that he too can find joy in having an active lifestyle.
Recently Toby took part in his first race, it was the Metasprint series and he did the kids race which was a 500m scooter ride followed by a 200m run. While reflecting during our post-race lunch, I asked him how he felt? He said he felt he could have gone faster during the scoot. I asked him why, was it because the race course was unfamiliar? He replied, “yes, and also because I wanted to save energy for the run.” When I heard that, I knew that he had internalized what I shared with him before about pacing during a race. That made me feel very proud. What was also awesome was seeing his game face on during his race
RDRC: What would you like for Father's Day, and why?
Wow! I really don’t have any idea. Part of me wants to have some time riding good gravel trails in Malaysia with my riding buddies. Yet another part of me wants to be able to enjoy the day with Pris and Toby (definitely something outdoors). They are the only reason I can even celebrate Father’s Day in the first place!
Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there from all of us at Red Dot Running Company! And if you are wondering what you can get your dad, drop by our store at 108 Sims Ave. Our friendly staff (some of who are dads themselves!) will be more than happy to help you pick out the ideal gift. Or head online to www.rdrc.sg to check out our latest gear.