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Athletic New Years, Brooklyn Style: Dance, Run, Bike, Walk, Swim into January 1

Join Non-Couch Potato New Yorkers in Prospect Park, Coney Island

By , About.com Guide

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New Years in Brooklyn isn't only about partying hard. Plenty of people exercise their way into the New Year, too! Here are five ways New Yorkers are playing hard in Brooklyn this New Years — by swimming, riding, running, and of course dancing their way into 2012.

1. WALK: Walk Across the Brooklyn Bridge on New Year's Eve

It's romantic. It's lovely. And with global warming, it's not that cold!

2. HIKE: Walk Across the Brooklyn Bridge and to Prospect Park Fireworks

Take a hike! It's perfectly do-able to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge (1.3 miles) and then to Prospect Park (2 and something miles) to Grand Army Plaza, where there's free food and hot drink and music at 11 P.M., followed by fireworks to usher in the New Year.

3. BIKE: Take a Midnight Bike ride from Williamsburg to Manhattan

Join a hearty posse of cyclists for a nippy ride through Manhattan to Central Park, followed by a short, outdoor party where you eat and drink what you and others bring. Don't be late. Participants are asked to BYOB and wear New Year's Eve gear over their Lycra.

4. RUN: Join the Pre-Midnight Run in Prospect Park

Families do it. Grannies do it. Hipsters, Wall Street bankers and Park Slope moms do it. You can register on site. It's a safe, fun, 3 mile run.

5. Dance: Best Dancing Parties in Brooklyn

Get your boogey on. Check out Brooklyn's Top Shows, and follow the recommendations for New Years Eve fun from Time Out New York and New York Magazine.

6. SWIM: Join the Polar Bear Club Swim in Coney Island on January 1

You have to sign up with the club in advance to swim, so this is one athletic activity that will please even the biggest couch potatoes in Brooklyn. Are they nuts? Swimming in the Atlantic in January? Go join in the fun in Coney Island!

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