"I lived with Jim for a little over a year at our house in Glen Ridge, affectionately dubbed The Rugby House. I have two very fond memories of Jim from that time. To say he was always doing something was an understatement. Jim played rugby with us on the NJMS team we had assembled. He didn’t always make it to practice but we could count on him to come to games. One day he showed up a little late and we asked where he was. He replied, “I just got back from my half triathlon.” We were blown away because he still showed up to play and stayed in for the whole game. That season we established the McLean Award for the toughest member of the team.
During his stay at the Rugby House Jim trained and competed in a Triathlon. I have never seen someone so disciplined as him. Up at 5 am to swim or bike the 40 miles to work and then back home that night to either lift or run. Weekend consisted of a 100 mile bike ride. I remember training with him once a week on his so called “speed” days. We would head to the Glen Ridge high school track and essentially run sprints for an hour and a half with no break around the track. When I say we, I mean Jim would, and I would try to do half to three quarters of that. Of course this was in the evening which means he had already worked out that morning. He was the most dedicated and intense person I had ever met. I think it’s safe to say that using half to three quarters of Jim McLean’s intensity throughout all facet’s of my life as a benchmark, then I’ll have done well."

Nicholas Beckloff