She recently ran her first marathon and rather than take the easy option of a local event, she joined 49,617 other people from around the world in the New York Marathon.
Not only did she complete the marathon, she was the second New Zealand runner to finish, out of 96, in an impressive time of 3hr 45min.
''It was awesome, really fantastic.
''I thought it would spread out a bit after the first 5km but it doesn't - it stays congested the whole way; there's so many people so you just look down trying to manoeuvre around people.
''It was completely different - I'm used to running with the sheep and the cows.
''Everyone says how beautiful it is but I have to be honest, I didn't actually see much of the scenery because you're just constantly looking down. I'm really happy with my result - I was aiming for under four hours,'' Mrs McLennan said.
She had done a lot of 10km and 12km runs in the past and, with advice from some local experts, started training for New York in February this year.
''A friend texted me at the beginning of the year - she'd just been for a run - and said `oh I reckon I could do the New York Marathon now'. I said to my husband, 'I'd actually really like to do that','' Mrs McLennan said.
''I felt pretty good, I did heaps of 36km runs in the build-up. I didn't want to do it if I didn't feel confident I could,'' she said.
A highlight of the trip was meeting runners from many countries.
''You all start the race in different waves and I was at 10.15am - we were there at about 6.30am and you're just waiting, so we met so many people from lots of different countries. In saying that, once I started running I didn't talk to anyone.
''The crowds are on you all the way along. I had a shirt made with Sharon and New Zealand printed on it and the crowd would yell out `you've got it Sharon'.
''That was really cool. There were millions of people in the crowd.''
Her inspiration for the run was her father John Turnbull who died at the age of 61 and was ''right into his fitness''.
She did not have any other marathons planned in the near future but said the London Marathon was one she might like to do one day.
- David Beck
