Like so many of us, Cupertino resident Barb Love strives for as much “normal” as possible in this year of COVID-19 and record-setting wildfires. For Love, that means clearing her head and refreshing her body and soul by running her favorite Bay Area trails.

An accomplished athlete, Love has run 31 marathons spanning all seven continents, and 106 half marathons in far-flung destinations such as Bhutan, China, Cuba, Iceland, Ireland and Tasmania. She’s on a quest to complete a running event in each of the 50 states, with 26 states already completed. She’s tackled an Ironman triathlon and swum from Alcatraz to San Francisco.

Many of the 2020 races she’d registered for—Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, London and New York—were either postponed to 2021 or transitioned to “virtual” events, where runners log miles from wherever they are able rather than traveling to the actual destination. Disappointed but not deterred, Love decided to run the virtual New York City Marathon on her own. She shared her race plan with her running friends in hopes that one or two would join her for various segments of the 26.2 miles. Instead, 18 of her friends gathered, masked and socially distanced, on Nov. 1 to re-create the NYC marathon along the Peninsula.

Barb’s crew consisted of five cyclists, five runners and several cheerleaders, including Phyllis and John Saavedra, Esmail and Parissa Rahimian all of Los Gatos; Ann Garvin and Lesli Smith of San Jose; Todd Williams of Cupertino, Ron Gentile of Palo Alto; Charles Fichou of Belmont, Judy DeSherlia of Campbell; and Anne Frick of Mountain View. Other crew members were Leanne Porter of Burlingame, Sheila Martin of Redwood City, Maha Feghali and Harmik Vartanian of Half Moon Bay and Marga Arbizu, Deb Freeman, Tricia Kramer and Geoff Phelps, all of San Mateo.

The race began at 6:30 a.m. Love wore bib No. 632, a nod to her sixth NYC marathon and her 32nd marathon overall. A makeshift start line consisted of a string of balloons, a friend holding the American flag and a recording of Whitney Houston singing the National Anthem before Love, Phyllis Saavedra and cyclist Fichou headed out under a beautiful blue moon while Frank Sinatra sang “New York, New York.”

A portable, moving water stop fueled Love and her support crew with fluids and snacks, as well as New York-themed music to inspire Love, a Long Island native. Official NYC marathon signage welcomed her to each “borough,” and photos of the faces of famous New Yorkers—Andrew Cuomo, Tina Fey, Billy Joel, Alicia Keys, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jerry Seinfeld—were held up behind a section of orange mesh fencing that kept the spectators—all eight of us—from interfering with our athlete’s progress.

The highlight came at mile 21 in “Harlem,” where our bathrobe-bedecked gospel choir sang a rousing chorus of “Amen.”

Love was greeted at the finish line with loud cheers, a medal, a mylar blanket, a bouquet of flowers and a swag bag with foot scrub, lotion and socks. The crew enjoyed a small picnic to celebrate her perseverance and the group’s enduring friendship.

Many in the group met through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training program and have remained friends and running buddies over the last 20 years. They share passions for running, traveling and fundraising for organizations that touch them and those they love.

For the NYC marathon, Love raised funds for Rising New York Road Runner’s Team for Kids. Through school-based programs, youth events and a collection of digital resources, Rising New York Road Runners bring free running and fitness programs to students across the country.

While Team for Kids members usually raise millions each year, this year’s total is just over $100,000 due to event cancellations.  For donation information, visit https://runwithtfk.org/Profile/PublicPage/87003/49156.