Many people participated in virtual runs last year during the COVID-19 shutdown and made friends along the way, but one Greeley woman took it a step further.

Jessy Nelson participated in the Great Virtual Race in May 2020, a race where people could log their own miles wherever they were and follow a map across Tennessee. The platform would keep track of where the runners were as they hypothetically ran across the state, and runners could see how they fared against others.

Nelson discovered a group of multiple women named "Jess," whom she kept track of during the event.

The run organizer started another event called the Circumpolar Race Around the World, where runners virtually run across the globe. It required a team of 10 runners to participate, so Nelson asked the other top-time Jesses if they'd want to participate together.

"I reached out to them and said, 'Let's form a team of Jess and do this race to run around the world.' So we did," Nelson said.

Eight members of the current team — aptly named "Jess Do It" in homage to Nike's slogan — have been together since the beginning. They began the race on Sept. 1 and wrapped it up this week. They ran roughly 30,000 miles over the span of 11 months.

"We're really involved with each other's lives, and we're across the United States. We even have a person from Canada," Nelson said. "We've stayed together for a long time."

The Jesses also came to Greeley last week for Jess' Backyard Ultra. This format requires participants to consecutively run 4.167 miles in less than one hour; the remaining time is used for recovery. The runner who completes one full loop more than the other competitors is declared the winner.

Jessica Grinspan was declared the winner — the last Jess standing — of Nelson's race, about 14 hours later.

Nelson said the group began talking about hosting an in-person event in January. They looked at different locations, but it made sense to have it in Greeley. She had the space to follow the Backyard Ultra regulations, and it's where the team's founder lives.

All eight Jesses stayed in Nelson's tiny farmhouse during their visit, which amounted to a giant grown up sleepover.

"We really talk every single day. I wake up in the morning to, like, a hundred messages on Facebook messenger," Nelson said. "We know not just stuff about running, but about our families and personal struggles. When they all came here, they weren't strangers or anything. It felt very natural."

Nelson — the only Jess who is called by her first name — said the team has plans to do more.

It is in the lottery for an in-person race in Tennessee, while the team hopes to do this again next year.

Anyone named Jess is welcome to contact Nelson to be an alternate if one of the founding members gets injured or can't participate in an event. They also get the joy of being part of the all-Jess running group.

Nelson hopes the team can put on another virtual event focused solely on running, so all Jesses — not just the official team — can participate.

The team also uses its platform to raise money for nonprofits. Jess Do It is still accepting donations to support the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network, more commonly known as RAINN.

Nelson is grateful for the new friendships and perspective she's gained throughout this year and hopes the team can continue providing love, support and accountability to its members.

"Something really special is that all of these Jesses are not only from different states, but they're all from different walks of life and they have really different backgrounds," Nelson said. "We have got a pastor, respite worker who works with kids, somebody that helps do policy with Congress. We have people from all walks and ages."

"We've become, like, a huge sisterhood of Jess, regardless of our abilities or backgrounds."