Blue Line Beginners Celebrate Crossing Finish Line At Akron Race

Nearly 2,000 people filled the starting line corral at the University of Akron’s InfoCision Stadium on Saturday morning. Music with thick bass beats poured from oversized speakers, building adrenaline. Many of them had been here before, experienced runners who became avid fans of the Akron Marathon and its summer-long race series long ago and no doubt have a wall full of medals and a closet full of commemorative tech shirts to show for it.But I was looking for the silicone wristbands that identified Blue Line Beginners, a group of new runners and speed walkers who had spent the past 12 weeks working together to reach this place on this day at this hour.They weren’t hard to find.