Harry McGregor: Chasing Fast Times in Launceston

At One Running, we love sharing the stories behind the performances. Harry McGregor's running journey has been nothing short of impressive, progressing from a cyclist who barely ran in 2022 to one of South Australia's emerging distance runners.

With Launceston 10 known as one of Australia's fastest road races, Harry targeted the event as a key goal for 2026. After several frustrating experiences over the 10km distance, he arrived determined to put together a complete race and was rewarded with a breakthrough 31:15 performance.

We caught up with Harry following the race to chat about his running journey, training, favourite workouts, and what's next as he continues to chase even faster times.

When did you start running and what got you into running?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been riding either mountain bikes or road bikes. Growing up in the Adelaide Hills certainly made that very accessible, with some of the best riding in the country right on my doorstep. In late 2022, at my school sports day, I decided to run both my age-group and Open 1,500m races. The results were nothing to write home about, but after I finished the second race, my previous coach, Joe Cross, approached me and asked if I wanted to come out and train with his group. I was pretty overwhelmed, and before I knew it, despite having done very little running beforehand, I was completing two structured running sessions each week while still riding in between. Over the years that followed, Joe Cross and Peter Deane had a huge influence on my love of running, and I definitely wouldn’t still be running today if it weren’t for them.

What is a standard training week for you and what is your favourite session?
I’m currently coached by Michael Nitschke and have been for the past two years. I train with the Adelaide Milers Crew at the Adelaide Uni Loop on Tuesdays and Fridays. Most of my training takes place in the evenings, mainly because during the day I’m balancing my Civil Engineering studies at university with a couple of casual jobs.

Monday – An easy 50–60 minute run with the One Running crew around the city parklands, followed by drills and six fast 100m strides.

Tuesday – A key workout session with the group. During the winter block, these sessions are typically longer threshold-based workouts, often consisting of 10–12km of work, with a 20-minute warm-up and 10-minute cool-down. Recent sessions have included 3 x 10 minutes sub-threshold, 4 x 8 minutes sub-threshold, and 5 x 1 mile, usually with around one minute jog recovery.

Wednesday – A 35-minute easy recovery run followed by 30 minutes in the gym, focusing on strength, running form, and injury prevention. If time and weather allow, I’ll also get out for an easy ride of 30–50km.

Thursday – My midweek shortened long run, usually 65–75 minutes at around 4:30/km pace, always over hills. It’s an important strength-building session, and living in the Adelaide Hills makes it easy to accumulate 200–300 metres of elevation gain.

Friday – The second workout of the week with the crew at the Uni Loop. These sessions are generally more race-specific and have included workouts such as the Mona Fartlek, Moose Fartlek, or my personal favourite: 10 minutes threshold, six 45-second hill repetitions, then another 10 minutes threshold.

Saturday – I work in a bike shop on Saturdays, so around that I’ll fit in a 50–60 minute run in the morning and either an easy jog or an hour on the road bike in the evening.

Sunday – Long run day. The group usually rotates through a variety of hilly routes each week. Typically, these runs are 90–100 minutes at around 4:20–4:30/km pace.

Weekly volume: 100–110km of running, 2–4 hours of cycling where possible, and one gym session.

Favourite workout: At the moment, I really enjoy extended threshold workouts, but I’ll always love ripping through some fast 200m reps on the track during summer.

What made you choose Launceston 10?
Launceston is known as one of the fastest road running courses in Australia, and when combined with the cooler conditions, which suit me well, it became a major goal race for 2026. It also helped that a large group from my training squad, along with several friends from Adelaide, were making the trip down, which made the travel experience much easier and more enjoyable.

What were you aiming for? What was the race plan? What was the result?
Being relatively new to running, I had taken several attempts at the 10km distance in both 2024 and 2025, and every one of them had ended in a blow-up and a disappointing experience. Going into Launceston, I really wanted to finally put together a complete race. Two weeks beforehand, I ran 31:50 on a hilly and windy course at the Adelaide 10km State Championships, which gave me confidence that a fast time was possible in Launceston. The race plan was all about execution. I knew I had completed a strong and consistent training block, aside from a brief period of illness, and I was confident that if I executed the race well, the result would take care of itself. There were periods during the race where I had to move to the front and do some work myself, but I was able to stay composed and ultimately ran 31:15.

What is your fondest running memory?
After progressing from a 21-minute 5km runner in 2022 to running in the low 15-minute range today, earning an elite start in a major race had always been a bucket-list goal. Last year’s City to Bay was my first proper elite start, and it genuinely meant the world to me. Being able to stand on the start line alongside many of the athletes I look up to was a very special moment.

What’s been your favourite race to date and why?
My favourite race has always been, and probably always will be, the City to Bay. Even before I started running competitively, I would either run or walk the event each year. It’s such a prestigious race in Adelaide that almost everyone knows what it is, and people understand what constitutes a strong performance there.

What are your current PBs?
My current personal bests are:
1,500m – 4:04
3,000m – 9:00
5km – 15:20
10km – 31:15

A few of these PBs, particularly the shorter track distances, are probably due for an update. My next major goal is the Gold Coast 10km in July, while the big target for the year is breaking 15 minutes for 5km at Fitzy’s 5 in August