The 29-year-old University of Otago tutor and master's student spent three months in Dunedin Hospital in 2003 after receiving serious injuries which left his right arm paralysed.
"I have some movement, but I wouldn't use it to drink coffee," he said.
"It doesn't stop me from doing much. In fact, I've done more since I had the accident than I ever did before.
"I can hit a golf ball further and straighter than when I had two good arms."
Mr McLean said the accident inspired him to keep active because he did not want to be "one of those people who sits in their lounge moping".
So in 2007, he started running, to get fit. He has since run the Auckland Marathon four times, along with marathons in Wellington, Dunedin and Paris. A marathon is over 42.195km.
Now, he wants to tackle "the big one" - the New York Marathon in November.
"For me, the New York Marathon is the pinnacle of marathon events.
He was not going over to run a good time but just to complete the race and add it to his list of achievements.
He will compete in the marathon with the Achilles International New Zealand team, a charitable organisation which takes people with disabilities to participate in the New York event.
Mr McLean said running the marathon would also serve as part of his training for the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he hoped to compete in the paratriathlon event.
At the moment, he is running about 100km each week and cycling another 35km.
While juggling his training with his work as a tutor at the Otago University human nutrition department and his master's degree in sports nutrition, Mr McLean is spending a lot of time fundraising for his trip to New York.
Donations can be made at www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/achillessouthisland/
