At the Sedona Red Rock High School athletic field after classes let out for the day, there are dozens of kids busy training for athletic events.

“Think of the competition!” and other motivational phrases are shouted back and forth among the students. Phillip Shipp, 88, of Sedona can also be seen training there several times a week.

“He inspires me and our high school team,” SRRHS track coach Harry Schneider said. “The kids see this. I hate to say old guy because I’m old, too. Come down to the track, usually after we practice, and he’s throwing the discus and shot put and then I say, ‘How old is that guy? He’s pretty good.’ Then I realized he’s 88 years old. It’s fascinating, because I appreciate the sport so much and to see somebody so passionate, it’s a great inspiration.”

Shipp attributes his longevity to consistent exercise and practice, as he has always taken care of himself and has been active in sports for decades. He concentrates more on his fitness now than previously in a quest for continued good health. “Mainly I still come out to the track to stay healthy,” Shipp said. “You always worry when you get older, that you’re going to have miseries, pains and illnesses, [but] I’ve always believed that enough exercise will keep you healthy and it’s worked out for me. Secondarily, I love the competition and the spotlight. Frankly, it’s fun being recognized as one of the better masters athletes in the country.”

Masters athletes are those over age 35 who compete in five-year age cohorts in a number of events. Soon after Shipp relocated to Sedona around the year 2000, after retiring from a career in tech, he discovered USA Track and Field masters’ events and started competing at age 65.

“When he competes in the masters, he likes to say ‘There’s not many people in my age bracket,’” Schneider commented. “I told him that’s because most people can’t do what you do.”

A typical regimen for Shipp is three days of running a mile for aerobics and three days of weight training.

“On a nationwide basis, there’s probably 50 to 80 people competing in my age bracket. Worldwide, there’s a couple of hundred,” Shipp said. “I’m in the 85 to 89 age bracket, and at the latest masters meet in Paradise Valley [in April] I threw shot put and in terms of ranking this year in the world I am number-one rated. Same for the high-jump, I’m the No. 1 rated again … And I have some American No. 1 rankings like throws, decathlon and the discus.”

Shipp attributes his decathlon success to being reasonably good at all of the individual events, which can add up to a high overall score. He typically wins the decathlon annually in his age bracket. Shipp excels most with the shot put, and is never complacent about his performance.

“Even though I achieved a new American record [for] shot put, I was disappointed

with a 9.95[-meter] throw,” Shipp wrote in February 2022. “So I decided to compete at the Northern Arizona University Classic in Flagstaff. I did better with 10.23 [meters]. I like that number much better.”

Never settling is a lesson Shipp likes to impart to young athletes, especially when he is around SRRHS. “You can’t compete in this sport and do it half way,” Shipp said. “If you want to be happy with yourself and performance, you got to go all out. You’re going to be worn out at times, but you got to overcome that and say, ‘I’m going to do this’ … Go at it full blast every day and that doesn’t mean that you have to be the greatest. You just want to do your best that you know you’re capable of.”

Shipp added that he wished he had learned about the masters track and field group earlier, because he’s been active his entire life, notably in tennis from his 30s to his 50s.

“I grew up in the Glendale, Calif., area, and then as an adult, I lived in Orange County,” Shipp said. “I graduated from UCLA in engineering and worked as an engineer in the electronics and computer industry. Eventually I started my own small computer firm, which provided hardware systems and software for users to run their business on. I was able to sell the company to a major hardware distribution firm that allowed me to retire.”

Retirement afforded him the opportunity to pursue his hobbies in no particular order, including golf, track and field and construction. Construction has been one of his interests ever since he worked in the field throughout college.

“When we moved to Sedona in 2000, we designed our own house, but had a general contractor build it,” Shipp said. “But 10 years later, I took on the project of being a home-ownerbuilder, and built a house in Thunder Mountain Ranch in the Tuscan style. I did close to half of the actual hands on work because of my love of construction.”

For senior Sedona residents, Shipp’s fitness advice is to stay active, set goals and continue weight and resistance training. The medical literature agrees.

“As we get older, there are inevitable functional and biological limitations that can cap exercise endurance, maximum strength and fitness,” Eric Shiroma of the National Institute on Aging said in a 2022 report. “Some of these limitations can be slowed down through an active lifestyle that includes strength training.”