Mile after marathon mile, starting weeks before the Big Apple's most challenging race, DC 37 members were on the job, setting the course for the fleet-footed competitors.

By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

Before 32,000 athletes took their mark on the Staten Island side of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge Nov. 3, hundreds of DC 37 members had already set the runners' course for the 34th annual New York City Marathon.

DC 37, the union that makes the city run, lived up to its motto as members from five locals in more than a dozen civil service titles prepared city streets for the most celebrated foot race in the world.

Weeks before marathoners paid homage to fleet-footed messenger-god Mercury, DC 37 members were hard at work. Crews from Traffic Employees Local 1455 labored around the clock, making and installing signs on roadways and bridges along the route. They painted a blue line to mark the 26.2-mile course that wend through neighborhoods in the city's five boroughs.

In Central Park, members of Local 1505 busily prepped the winners' circle. They patched potholes and cracks, erected the VIP platform and bleachers and installed four miles of snow fencing to corral the crowds.

The evening before the race, as runners downed pasta to fuel their bodies for the grueling challenge ahead, TBTA maintenance employees in Local 1931 worked through the night. Runners need a smooth surface to avoid dangerous falls, so Bridge Maintainers laid stretches of non-slip flooring over the metal expansion grids on the Verrazano, Brooklyn and 59th Street bridges, which connect the archipelago that comprises this city.

Meanwhile Traffic Enforcement Agents in Motor Vehicle Operators Local 983 plucked illegally parked cars from Big Apple streets that were closed to all except marathoners.

In the early morning chill of Nov. 3, mounted Urban Park Rangers, also members of Local 983, were redeployed from parks around the city to patrol Central Park, where the finish line lay. The rangers were alert to possible terrorist activities as they protected tons of personal items left behind by anxious runners. They helped reroute traffic and control the throngs of cheering supporters and pedestrians who had to navigate their way around the park.

At the main First Aid station and along the route, Emergency Medical Service Technicians, Paramedics and Supervisors in Locals 2507 and 3621 bandaged scrapes and sprains, treated strained muscles and rescued runners overcome by exhaustion and exposure.

Once the last marathoner crossed the finish line and collected the crown of personal achievement that comes with completing the difficult trek, Local 1505 crews began a two-week clean-up assignment. The City Park Workers and Debris Removers disassembled fences and removed truckloads of trash from Central Park.

Long after the aches are soothed, the blisters are soaked and the victors move on to other races, this fact remains: DC 37 members were there at every turn in another successful New York City Marathon.