North Brooklyn, NY - Eddie Galeski lunged forward, propping his weight onto his left leg. He clapped his hands together and bounced impatiently.“I'm waiting for Paula Ratcliffe to come through,” he said. “Paula's f------ awesome.”
Galeski, 51, was waiting outside his apartment on the corner of Leonard Street and Greenpoint Avenue. The spot is in the neighborhood of Greenpoint, which is New York’s largest Polish enclave, along Brooklyn’s northern tip.
Three hundred meters away, the New York City Marathon climbs the Polaski Bridge and drops into the borough of Queens. Along the way, marathoners pass the halfway mark.
At 10:15 on Sunday morning, the women leaders were approaching Greenpoint. Galeski stood ready in a backwards Yankees hat, sweatpants, blue t-shirt and basketball shoes. The air was cool and damp, about 50 degrees, and Galeski bounced to keep warm. Everyone else was in a jacket or sweater. A helicopter swirled overhead.
“She’s comin’, she’s coming’,” Galeski said, bending forward and slapping his hands. He held his arms out over the road. “Come on Paula!”
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