The Roxburgh multisport athlete and adventure racer is one of 30 competitors in the feature event of the inaugural Northburn Station 100 mile (160km) Mountain Run, which starts today near Cromwell.
It will be the 36-year-old's first attempt at the distance and he is matter-of-fact about the likely result of 48 hours of running up and down hills.
"It's going to be incredibly hard: the hardest thing I've ever done. I don't expect to be able to walk on Monday."
He was inspired by Lisa Tamati's autobiography Running Hot. Tamati, an ultra-distance runner based in New Plymouth, is one of the organisers of this weekend's event and has mapped out the course.
"I'd read her book and when I heard about this event on our doorstep ... a 100-mile event was on my bucket list, I guess, so I had to have a crack at it."
"I'm not really a runner as such, and I've certainly never run that far, " McLeod, also a multisporter and adventure racer, said.
"For me, I guess it's the challenge and the unknown and the whole 'Can I do it' question. Will the body hold up? Will my legs get through it ?"
He ran a short section of the course during a 24-hour race in November - "a horrible little bit, along the water-race".
"But the steepness of the course, all that going uphill and downhill, scares me a bit."
All going well, he hopes to finish the race within about 35 hours, but the main aim was to complete it.
"I just want to be able to finish it, and tick that one off my list, and then I'll get back to biking."
Wright says the race will be a real test of mental strength. Keeping focused was also essential.
"I've been on adventure races and when you get past about 20 hours you get a bit dreamy and dopey so you have to stay focused.
"The races I've done in the past have involved more of a variety, you run for six or seven hours and when you're getting sick of that, you get on your mountain bike and it gives you a new lease of life.
"Then after another six hours or so you get in a kayak, so it's another change. I've never tried to keep going and going."
His preparations have included long training runs, building up to 60km.
Australian ultra-distance runner Samantha Gash (26) is competing in the 100km event this weekend and says "slow and steady" would win the race.
"I've been given the title the 'Grandma Shuffler' but the aim is to be turtle, not the hare."
One of her main concerns about the race is the possibility of rolling an ankle on the rocky terrain. A medical team is on site.
