On Saturday, June 19, stop by Central Park and enjoy a day of outdoor adventure…for FREE! Activities will include:

• Rock Climbing Walls
• Dagger & Wilderness Systems Paddle Sports Center
• Take Me Fishing Zone
• Fitness Clinics
• Free Bike Rentals
• Bike Helmet Giveaway
• Free Valet Bike Parking, Courtesy of KEEN Footwear
• Bird Watching Tours
• Yoga Clinics
• “The Last Airbender” Martial Arts Zone, led by Shaolin Kung Fu Training Center
• Obstacle Courses
• Trampoline Acrobatics by The Skyriders!
• Outdoor Career Fair
• Special Musical Performances

New Year's Eve Run

Emerald Nuts Midnight Run – Thursday, December 31 / DJ Music and Dancing • 10:00 p.m. / Costume Parade and Contest • 11:00 p.m. / Fireworks and 4M Race • Midnight / Central Park, New York / C, $ [Key]

Update: Register in-person for the Emerald Nuts Midnight Run during number pickup at NYRR. See below for hours (including until 10:30 p.m. on New Year’s Eve).

Kick off the New Year with a spectacular fireworks and laser light show at the Emerald Nuts Midnight Run. Join the fun and celebrate with a costume parade, dancing, and much more.

Party Location - Dancing and the costume contest will be held at the Central Park Bandshell, just south of the 72nd Street Transverse in Central Park, New York. The closest entrance is at Fifth Avenue and 72nd Street.

Details to come. Start on the 72nd Street Transverse heading east. Turn left (north) on East Drive. Continue north to the 102nd Street Transverse. Turn left (west) onto the 102nd St Transverse and turn left (south) onto West Drive. Continue south on West Drive to the 72nd Street Transverse. Turn left (east) onto the 72nd Street Transverse to the finish line near the entrance to Cherry Hill.

All participants will receive a long-sleeve shirt plus a special souvenir. Size satisfaction is subject to availability.

Number Pick-up/Registration

If checking in on race day, be sure to allow yourself enough time to get from NYRR to the festivities (approximately a mile away). There is no registration or number pickup in Central Park.

Note: Bathrooms, bag storage, and changing facilities will not be available at the NYRR building after 8:00 p.m. on race day. This run is a fun run and results will not be posted online.

Back on November 2, another man was attacked near the East Drive and the Great Lawn. A week before that, there was another mugging near 97th Street and West Drive. Police do not believe the incidents are connected – I don’t think so either, however this is a reminder that with the Park getting dark by around five pm now it is advisable to take some common sense precautions.

Stick to parts of the Park drive that are well populated with dog walkers and other runners – in general the farther north you get in the park the sparser the crowds, this applies especially after seven PM in the winter months. The NYRR has a number of running groups that meet every night that accommodate runners at a variety of speeds and distances.

Wollman Rink

Wollman Rink was built in 1949 when Kate Wollman donated $600,000 for its construction. In the 1980′s, it was renovated, and is now run, by Donald Trump. It has been a success from the day it opened – over 300,000 skaters glided across the ice in its first year of operation.  For more information about Wollman Rink, including rates, hours of operation, and lesson information, either call 212-439-6900.

Lasker Skating Rink, at the northern end of the park, offers a full complement of lessons and activities with certified instructors. For more information about Lasker Skating Rink, including rates, hours of operation, and lesson information, either call 917.492.3856 or email them at lasker@wollmanskatingrink.com.

Wollman Rink, east side between 62nd and 63rd Streets. Enter the Park at 59th and 5th Avenue.

Lasker Rink, mid-Park between 106th and 108th Streets. Enter the Park at 110th and Lenox Avenue.

The ING New York City Marathon has a very close relationship with Central Park.

The original Marathon, run in 1970, took place entirely in the park.  Runners covered over four grueling loops of the park, including the daunting hills at the northern end, and out of the 127 that entered only 55 actually completed the course.  Now, after wending its way through all five boroughs, the race enters the park at E. 90th Street. and Fifth Ave. and, after a brief sprint outside along Central Park South, finishes at Tavern on the Green.  (For  an in depth look at the course go to the ING New York City Marathon Site.)

For spectators Central Park also offers one of the best places for watching the race.  While being cheered on by the over two million fans anywhere along the course is exhilarating and inspiring and few runners ever forget the thrill of running along First Avenue. in Manhattan and being urged on by the screaming throngs (especially the ones that have spent the afternoon in one of the many bars that line the avenue) it is along the last few miles inside the park that the encouragement is most appreciated.

As you might imagine the finish line is bit crowded and you actually have to purchase tickets watch the runners cross the finish line.  However the east side of the park, from 90th Street. down, offers lots of great places to view the race and cheer on the runners.  There are just a few simple suggestions that might be worth remembering.

1)  Stay behind the barricades – they’re there for the runner’s protection as well as your own.  There is nothing quite as heartbreaking as getting to mile 24 only to trip over a spectator stepping out onto the park drive.

2)  Get an ETA if you’re waiting for a specific runner – you can usually predict with some degree of accuracy by taking the runner’s projected pace and multiply by the mile marker you’re nearest.

3)  What to bring – individually wrapped hard candy is a favorite, sugar helps even near the end, and you can make yourself extremely useful just by bringing a roll of paper towels and passing them out to runners as they go by.  After sweating and swilling water on the run for a few hours things can get pretty soggy.

4)  The New York Road Runner’s Club and the thousands of volunteers do a brilliant job helping runners reunite with friends and family.  Besides being proud and sore at the end of the race participants are HUNGRY.  A pat on the back is appreciated – a bag of Fritos and you’re a hero.

5)  If you can’t find the time to attend the race, or are not near enough, you can always follow your favorite runner’s progress over the internet.  You can track up to ten different runners on the New York Road Runners Website.  All you need is the number of the microchip that each runner wears on their shoe.  With that information you can tell every time the runner you’re tracking crosses over one of the mats along the route.

In any case it’s important to get out and give any support that you can – marathon runners spend many months training and, in some cases, travel from all over the world to participate in the New York Marathon.  You can miss brunch and NFL football one Sunday.  Especially if you’re a Jets fan.

Yes, you can bicycle with your family and 30,000 other cyclists through Manhattan from near the Battery downtown north to Central Park, then through Harlem and over a bridge to the Bronx, then onto an FDR Drive blissfully closed to cars, and then into Queens and Brooklyn.

The 5 Boro Bike Tour has been turning the New York City into a rolling bike circus since 1977. It kicks off in 2009 at 8 am Sunday, May 3.
Registration is now open at the Bike New York Website. Cost per person is $48 by March 13, $58 afterward. Registration for youths 14 or under is $25. There is also VIP registration for $250.