enlarge Doug Jones/Staff photographer

Entrepreneur Jeremy Litchfield of Durham models a running shirt made of recycled material. He is hoping to market to environmentally conscious athletes.

ROAD CLOSINGS DURING TODAY'S MAINE MARATHON

The following roads will be closed for today's race to nonlocal traffic, with the exception of official race vehicles:

• Baxter Boulevard between Forest Avenue and Preble Street: 5 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• Route 88 in Falmouth from Route 1 to Depot Road: 8-9:30 a.m.

• Depot Road in Falmouth: 8-9:30 a.m.

• Johnson Road/Route 88 intersection in Falmouth: 8 a.m. to noon

• Gilman Road in Yarmouth from Route 88 to Prince's Point Road: 9 a.m. to noon

In addition, spectators are asked not to park on Route 88 at any point on the course, as the runners will be traveling in both directions.

After the last runner in today's Maine Marathon makes the turn in Yarmouth and heads back to Portland, a group of 30 volunteers will step on the race course and pick up all the trash left behind.

Hopefully, most of the stuff the estimated 3,000 runners will throw away during the 26-mile race can be recycled.

If Jeremy Litchfield has it his way, all of the performance apparel worn by runners during a road race will be made from their trash.

About month ago, Atayne, the company founded by the Durham native four months ago, began selling running jerseys for men and women essentially made from trash.

It all started last May when red dye ran down Litchfield's leg from his new running jersey while he was training to run in a marathon.

"I knew intuitively all along performance apparel was not necessarily good for the environment," he said. "This experience made me wonder what sort of chemicals were running down my leg, so I went and did a lot of research."

What he discovered really bothered Litchfield, a 1999 graduate of Bowdoin College.

"Once a fabric is made they treat it with a lot of chemicals so it will dry faster and to combat bacteria so it doesn't stink," he said. "There's a lot of questionable chemical treatments in that material."

From his research, Litchfield, who graduated from Brunswick High School in 1995, learned there were some much healthier alternatives.

"I found there were great innovative fabric manufacturers out there who are producing materials which are not only good for the environment but they also are creating more natural fabric enhancers which are not potentially harmful to the people who wear them or the people who manufacture them," he said.

The running tops sold by Litchfield's company are composed of recycled polyester made from discarded plastic and Cocona fabric produced from the discarded husks of coconuts.

In a word, trash.

Currently, Litchfield is working with a clothing manufacturer in Vancouver, Canada, that buys the fabric from a supplier in Taiwan.

"My goal from the beginning (has been) to establish a supply chain in North America. Hopefully, the United States," he said.

To show such a supply chain is possible, Litchfield's company has organized a group of volunteers to pick up after the runners in the Maine Marathon.

"We're going to try to leave the course the marathon is run on cleaner than when we found it and also make sure nothing goes into the landfill that can be reused," he said. "Unfortunately, the infrastructure currently doesn't exist so we can take the plastic we collect and send it directly to a clothing manufacturer. That's one thing we're working on."

Since Atayne performance apparel went on sale early last month, it has drawn rave reviews from some of the people who have worn the jerseys while running.

"There are seemingly 100 choices out there for performance apparel and I have tried many, from high-tech fabric to marino wool," said Michael Valliant, director of marketing and media relations at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in Easton, Md. "So far, my Atayne shirt sits above the rest, in that it is comfortable, durable and stays feeling dry, even running in heat the humidity.

"Some shirts I wear running look like they've been through battle by the end of a long run, where my Atayne shirt looks like I just put it on."

Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:

pbetit@pressherald.com