With the passing of Don Macgregor at the age of 80 last week, Scotland lost one of its greatest endurance athletes. 

Although still the holder of the Scottish M40 5km and 10km records at the time of his death, Macgregor will be best remembered for his performance in the marathon. Over the course of his career, Macgregor ran 51 26.2-mile races, 24 of which were under 2.20.

Two of those marathons were part of Commonwealth Games: Edinburgh (1970, 8th place) and Christchurch (1974, 6th). His time at Christchurch – 2.14.15 – wound up being his PB, at time which still earns him a solid 12th place in the Scottish all-time rankings.   

A founding member of Fife AC in 1975, Macgregor also earned three golds and six silvers at the Scottish Championship level.

A schoolteacher by day, Macgregor made it to the Olympics too, one of only eight Scottish men ever to do so. His seventh place finish at Munich in 1972 (2.16.42) was the last appearance by a Scot in an Olympic marathon until Callum Hawkins, Derek Hawkins and Tsegai Tewelde were chosen for Rio in 2016.

The endurance Macgregor showed in his races was also evident in his career itself. An incredible 21 years separated his first (1965) and last (1986) Scottish championship medals. 

Speed did not elude him as he aged, either. In 1983, at the age of 43, he won the first Dundee Marathon in a time of 2.17.24. It’s worth bearing in mind that only a handful of Scottish athletes – of any age – are recording sub 2.20 times even today. 

Macgregor has been fondly remembered by friends, family and clubmates on social media this week not just for his sporting achievements, but also for his years of service to sport, local government and charities – as well as his sense of humour. 

Image credit: Mark Shearman/scottishathletics