From “Misfit Farm Kid” to Super Senior Athlete

By Del Moon, NSGA Storyteller

Don Phillips, 94
Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Some people assume that most National Senior Games competitors are lifelong athletes. In reality, we estimate that over half of Senior Games athletes either returned to a sport or took up new ones in midlife, and some discover hidden abilities as they progress.

Don Phillips is inspiring because he is a humble, ordinary guy who, at age 56, decided to find new ways to stay active, leading him to the Senior Games. He began competing in national competitions in 1993 and has navigated twists and turns, including a string of medical issues from 2001 to 2011 that only allowed him to do the South Dakota Senior Games when he felt well.

Don persevered and had his breakthrough year in 2015 when he won his first gold medal at the National Senior Games — actually, SIX of them.

The past decade has been one of growth and success for Don. He added field events to his running repertoire of the 50-800m races. In 2023, Don won seven gold and one silver, and in 2024, he was listed as Top Ten in the world in six events by World Masters Athletics records.

Not resting on these laurels, Don decided to add Cornhole and Powerlifting to his competition schedule for the 2025 National Senior Games presented by Humana. Don’s workout routine now involves more whole body and weight training, so he’s curious to see what it’s like to compete as a super senior at 94.

In the edited conversation below, Don shares that he earned a degree at Iowa State University and is excited to return after 65 years to run on the track at Cyclone Sports Complex. Read on to learn about Don’s rural upbringing with limited athletic options, how he stayed active as a large animal veterinarian and when he realized he needed to be more active to stay healthy. We’re delighted he found Senior Games as his path to follow.

Don Phillips is living proof that anyone can improve their life by getting involved in an activity and sticking with it. This “misfit farm kid” has found his Personal Best journey and encourages you to find yours!

Don, let’s start where you are and work back to how you got here. You are a longtime competitor and a podium topper in the Senior Games and the world. In 2024, you earned six Top Ten rankings in World Masters Athletics records for men 90-94. For a guy who started later in life, you are posting some great results. Are you surprised you’re doing so well?
I am. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be doing this. I really feel blessed that I’ve been able to do it. I just grew up as a misfit farm kid and I look back and wonder, ‘How did I ever get this far?’ I still feel it, that was my start.

 

You are from the rural heartland. Are you a South Dakota native?
No, but close. I grew up in Forbes, North Dakota. It was right on the North Dakota side of the state line. At the last census I looked at, there’s 39 people there.

I graduated from high school in ‘48 and I didn’t have any idea what I wanted to do, but my mother wanted me to go to this teacher’s college. So I went there one year, and I didn’t want to go back. I wasn’t interested in anything at that time, so I taught country school for one year, and then I was drafted into the Army in 1951.

That was during the Korean War. How long were you in the service?
I served two years. I took infantry basic, and then I was fortunate when they pulled out a few of us to go to counterintelligence school in Fort Holabird in Baltimore. Then I was sent to Tokyo for 13 months in an office job.

I used the GI Bill to go to North Dakota State and got a bachelor’s degree in animal husbandry, and then I applied for veterinary school at Iowa State, and I graduated from Iowa State University in 1960.

IOWA STATE? Track & Field for the 2025 National Senior Games is there. Talk about full circle!
Yes, I’m excited the track and field is at Cyclone Stadium. I graduated from Iowa State 65 years ago, and to be able to compete in that stadium is going to be a little extra special.

Did you have any dreams of playing sports in college?
No, no, it never entered my mind to compete on the college level or much of anywhere else for that matter. My high school was small, and basketball was the only sport we had there. We did a lot of hunting back then, but I didn’t really do other sports for many years. I started golfing later on, but I was really tied down with my practice.

So, you became a veterinarian?
Yeah, I had a large animal veterinary practice for about 35 years in Colman, South Dakota, about 30 miles from Sioux Falls. When I came back from spending 13 months on a desk job I helped bale hay with a farmer and I couldn’t believe my physical condition was that bad. I decided I’m not going to spend my life at a desk anymore. For most of my working career I was on my feet and moving all day. I think that helped keep me healthy.

It’s great that you had that epiphany at a younger age, and that it helped you find a career that kept you fit. So when did Senior Games enter your life?
Here’s how it started. My neighbor came home from the doctor one day and I met him out in the yard. He told me he had to change his diet and get some exercise. Well, he was overweight, he was diabetic, his knees were bad. It was good advice, but it was way too late for him. And I thought, ‘You know, maybe a person should start doing that when they still can do it.’

So I started just going out walking every morning. Then I started jogging a little bit. And one day I jogged a mile without walking. I started running 5Ks and 10Ks when I could, and that fall I saw the results of the South Dakota Senior Games in the paper. I decided I’m going to enter that next year and I did. I’d never been to a track meet before that, so it was a learning experience. I’ve done the South Dakota state games most years since.

The next big step was the National Senior Games, which you started in Baton Rouge in 1993. But we see you disappeared in 2001 and returned in 2011. What happened in that lost decade?
I had some health issues. I had both knees scoped, then I had a bug with pneumonia and then had some shoulder and rotary cuff operations. It was like one thing would happen, and then another thing would happen, and then another thing would happen.

It’s like, I just can’t get into a rhythm, and I admit I just kind of lost motivation with those things going on. I was still doing some of the smaller games, but not like a regular thing.

What got your mojo to go back to Nationals?
I looked at my times in the State Games and at the National Games, and I decided maybe I can be competitive again at this age. So I started back again at 81, and I got a few medals in Houston and Cleveland. And then in 2015 in Minneapolis I was 85 and did all the running events from the 50 through the 800. I won six gold medals. Wow! Those are the first gold medals I ever got.

Congrats, Don! Are the medals a motivation to keep going?
Well, they help. You know, you like to win the medals, but after you get the medal, that part is kind of over with and the rest of it is a camaraderie and the stuff that really lasts. You meet some great people in these games.

The next big chapter for you was adding field events to your running, and you have performed amazingly well for being a super senior “newbie.”
The first time I did field events was 2022 when I started in the 90 to 94 group. I think I was about 87 or 88 when I started working into those. I bought a discus, a shot put, a javelin and hammer to throw. The other guys gave me some tips and it’s worked out.

We saw that you have added even more events for 2025. You are signed up for Cornhole and Powerlifting. Most people half your age couldn’t do this much!
The National Veterans Golden Age Games were in Sioux Falls three years ago and they had a powerlifting demonstration, so I decided to give it a try. Structure wise, I’ve always been kind of scrawny, but most of my exercises are strength exercises now. I used to run a lot, but I don’t sprint like yesterday. I started doing push ups and chin ups and more full body exercises. I work with weights two to three times a week. I’m very curious to see how powerlifting is done in the 95 age group.

Don, you are sharp-minded and even-tempered. Do you think your physical activity helps with your emotional and mental stability?
Yes. They all fit together. One benefits and helps in the other areas of your life.

So what is your advice to others to live a successful life?
You just have to keep moving. Start an exercise program and stick with it. After a few years, I got to the point where doing exercise became a part of my lifestyle as much as eating and sleeping. And I think it’s just as important.

A good family life is important too, right?
Oh yes. Laverla and I celebrated 71 years of marriage last year, and we have three daughters – Diane, Linda, Lisa. Laverla has been very, very supportive and has been to most of the Senior Games with me until she had back surgery a few years ago. It’s difficult for her to travel but I know Diane will be in Des Moines.

Don, let’s end our chat with a softball question: if you weren’t doing all of this, do you think you’d still be as healthy now at your age?
I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t even be here. I really believe that!

We agree, and we’re happy you are with us on your journey. We will be celebrating with you when you get on the track at Iowa State!
Thank you.