Having qualified to represent Australia in June through a 24-hour continuous race, Phipps had the arduous task of fund-raising his way to the other side of the world in just four months.
But with a bit of help from the Nanneella Community Group, Echuca Bearings, and personal training from By Tara, Phipps was able to overcome the financial barriers as well as recover from a broken arm during his training, to make the plane.
He said the London course was like nothing he had ever encountered before.
‘‘It was a tough course and very different to what I’ve experienced here in Australia,’’ Phipps said.
‘‘There was a lot of upper body strength stuff there, which was okay but I was still recovering from a broken arm, so I didn’t go as well as I would have liked.
‘‘But overall it was a good experience to get out there and give it a good crack. I wasn’t in the top 100, I think I was just a competitor,’’ he laughed.
And to make matters even harder, he was introduced to two complete strangers who were his new teammates.
‘‘In the team relay I ended up being with an American woman and a Swedish man. It wasn’t strictly representing your country, it was just teaming up with anyone else there, and I thought that was a unique experience to run alongside other people from different countries,’’ he said.
Phipps completed the sprint leg, while his American counterpart carried out the strength leg; and his Swedish teammate finished the upper body and technical leg; before they all teamed together once more to cross the line.
Following the worlds, Phipps headed back to Victoria for the Spartan Trifecta in Bright.
‘‘That’s probably the biggest Australian event other than the 24-hour event I did in June, so there’s been a couple of events which have been big.
‘‘I had some decent results in that race and I’m quite happy with that — I ended up on the podium with third in the 21km course.
It was Phipps’ final obstacle course race of the calendar year — but he won’t be able to rest on his laurels for long.
‘‘Next year it’ll be straight back into it. I’ll go into the Spartan series, competing again in the elites and the True Grit; and then onto the world championship enduro in June, which is the 24-hour race again.
‘‘Potentially any one of those could qualify me for the world championships again in 2019,’’ he added.
‘‘There’s a possibility to represent overseas again which is great really,’’ he said.
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