More Than Laps: A Kiwi Dad’s Journey to the Backyard Ultra World Champs

Simon McLean's BIGS BYU Full Inteview

When Kiwi dad and ultra-runner Simon McLean lined up for the Bigs Backyard Ultra 2025 World Championships in Tennessee, it wasn’t just about the number of laps he could complete. It was about chasing a dream, managing the pressure of supporters and family back home, and applying lessons in resilience, mindset, and preparation that extend far beyond the trail.

When you spend 38 hours running a 6.7 km loop on repeat in Tennessee heat, rain, mud, and darkness, there’s a lot of time to think. Kiwi ultra-runner Simon McLean, representing New Zealand at the Bigs Backyard Ultra World Championships 2025, turned that into an opportunity — a masterclass in mindset, resilience, and the power of preparation.

A few days after the event, as we packed up and started the long journey home, Simon sat down with me (his nutritionist and part of his support crew) to unpack what the experience really meant.

“So we’re on our way home now, and it’s been a couple of days since you finished up at Bigs, so you've had a couple of days to process it all. What are your thoughts about it now?”

“Yeah, look, I think there’s still a massive part of me that will process it for a while yet,” Simon said. “Obviously in regards to loop numbers, it’s pretty disappointing. You put a lot of eggs in one basket for something like Bigs.”

But perspective comes quickly for Simon. “There's been a lot of nutrition changes that we've done. There's been a lot of mindset coaching that we were able to put to work. And, I think to get to nearly 40 loops and not see a low for me, like I typically would in the early stages, was really, really positive.”

For context, Simon completed 38 loops (about 255 km) before withdrawing due to a painful shin injury that is still being diagnosed — a very different reason to stop than in his earlier backyard ultras. “When I compare Dead Cow to now, I'm really happy that the way Bigs finished was that it was my body that really pulled me out this time. And unfortunately it wasn't my body being at the point of exhaustion or at the point of, you know, hallucinations or not knowing where I was.  But yeah, unfortunately it was an injury, but at Dead Cow, it was very much the mental game that pulled me out there.”

A bigger picture than just laps

Behind the race and the training was another story — a campaign to make the trip happen. With flights, accommodation, visas and all the logistics of an international event adding up, Simon and his family turned to the crowd to help bring the dream alive. Through the Givealittle campaign, “Help a Kiwi Dad Chase His World Championship Dream,” they invited friends, family, and supporters to help make Bigs a reality.

As the page describes, Simon is a proud father of three young children — not a full-time professional athlete, but a working Kiwi dad who’d earned the chance to represent New Zealand on a world stage. The campaign wasn’t just about funding a race; it was about showing his kids what it means to dream big, commit fully, and keep going when things get tough.

When we talked about the Givealittle support, I asked Simon if he’d felt pressure to “deliver” a result for everyone who’d chipped in. He nodded. “I think human nature says that we want to do our best for the people that have supported us, right?  The one thing I do know, and that I hope, is that the people that really got behind me, like yourself and everyone who gave to the Givealittle and the crew up here, regardless of the result, they understand that getting here is a goal in itself. So I'm just trying to be gentle on myself about that sort of thing.”

That community of belief stretches right through to Simon’s family. “If we have an event back home, [the kids are] always there, which adds another complication again, but it's just how we do life,” he said.  In fact, on Day 1, the livestream saw Simon and his wife (and support crew) Kim managing a FaceTime call to their two kids back home between laps, while their youngest (8 months) was being cared for back at our house in Tennessee by good friend and fellow support crew Jocelyn Fausett.

Supporters weren’t just backing a runner — they were backing a father, a husband, and a team. That sense of shared purpose gave every loop an extra layer of meaning.

“So tell us about how the race unfolded for you, start to finish.”

The race started well — hot Tennessee weather, clear trails, and plenty of atmosphere. Then on the first night came a huge rainstorm that soaked everything and everyone, took out the livestream, filled up previously dry creek beds, and turned the carpark into a muddy bog in which vehicles were getting stuck.  “It was so funny talking to a lot of the European guys who are all trained and acclimatised for heat, and they're like, oh my gosh, now we're gonna have to deal with the rain.  And I was like, give me my jacket! Let's get on with it! ... I actually really enjoyed the rain section.’”

But as the trail turned to soup, the course switched to road loops only. “And then over the course of that first night too, I ended up with what started out as a bit of shin pain, you know?  And I mean, you were crew that night. And that sort of unfolded over the next four to five hours to what I thought was potentially like a lacing issue or a shoe issue, and then it just slowly started to become more and more inflamed. It got angrier and angrier. By sort of two o'clock in the morning, three o'clock in the morning, even trying to get some Voltaren gel onto the area was quite difficult because it was so tender.”

Despite the pain, Simon kept pushing for another full day. “That was sort of the start of where the mindset coaching probably really kicked in. Like, making sure that myself talk was still positive, understanding my body can come back from this, we can deal with this. So we battled through that.  We kept going, to sunrise and then we went through the day.”

Eventually, though, the injury had the final say.

The long game of learning

In true Simon fashion, he sees the setback as part of the process. “You know, every time you do one of these, it's a learning process. You never get to a point with a backyard where you say, there's nothing more than I can learn about a backyard.  Right? You go 90 yards, and then you go, man, what I would do next time! One of the biggest things from Dead Cow that we pulled out of it was having glasses for the night loops, so I could get my contact lenses out. And that paid massive dividends.”

And on the nutrition side? “We made a lot of nutrition changes,” he said. “But there’s still room to refine — next time we’ll simplify things a bit.”

“So you haven’t been put off backyards?”

“Definitely not,” he grinned. “Bigs is obviously in two years’ time.  That's a really long-term goal. We'll start looking at breaking it down as to what getting to Bigs again looks like, and obviously we've gotta go through qualifying again and trying to put some numbers on the board to get me back there.”

He’s already secured a spot on the New Zealand team for next year’s Satellite Championships, thanks to his Dead Cow qualifier — a well-earned chance to breathe before the next build.

“It’s been a massive two years,” Simon said. “I think the whole family’s ready for a break. We’ll throw in a couple of fun events, but nothing crazy.”

— Hannah Presswood, Real Health Sports Nutrition