Big Bear Squatch North

Big Bear Squatch North

Sassquad and the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference are proud to present the 5th Annual Harriman Big Bear SquaTCh North at Harriman State Park in Bear Mountain, New York! Join us at 9am on Saturday, April 4, 2026 for this trail party! This is one of the toughest race in our series but your hard work will be rewarded with amazing views! Make no mistake about it, this is a true northeast mountain race! Runners and hikers will experience non-stop trail beauty, scrambling, epic climbs and vistas. Your race registration is directly helping the Trail Conference maintain the trails at Harriman State Park and Bear Mountain State Park.

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Our course highlights the technical trails, beautiful views, and steep climbs of Harriman State Park. This is NOT a flat course; this is a MOUNTAIN race. We have rerouted this course and changed the distances three out of the four years due to storm damage and trail reroutes. The extensive storm damage from July 2023 still keeps many of the trails at Harriman and Bear Mountain closed. We are using the same 10K and 13.1M courses from 2024 for the 2025 rendition of the Big Bear SquaTCh North. The 10K packs in 1,400 ft of elevation gain and the half marathon climbs over 2,600 ft! Both the 10K and the 13.1M courses are rugged, technical, and have steep climbs/descents, cliffs, and scrambling. This event is not recommended for kids under the age of 16. The half marathon starts with a 7.5 mile lollipop course that is much less rugged than the second lollipop that follows the 10K course. Half Marathoners will return to the start/finish after the first 7.5M lollipop course before going out for the second lollipop which is the 10K course. The 10K course is tough but your hard work will be rewarded with incredible views of the NYC skyline, the Hudson River and the Hudson Valley. Highlights include Cat's Elbow and West Mountain - it's absolutely squatchtastic! There is a 6 hour cutoff for both events. Half Marathoners need to maintain a 27 min 30 sec per mile pace to make the cutoffs. The 10Kers need to maintain a 58 min per mile pace to finish by 3pm.

REQUIRED GEAR
Our race course is NOT flat and the trails are very technical, steep and rugged. Both distances will be a challenge for even the veteran mountain runners/hikers. We do not recommend this event to kids under the age of 16. ALL participants are REQUIRED to have the following with them at all times:

• Charged cell phone
• Water bottle or hydration pack - we recommend packing at least 1.5L of water.
• At least 200 extra calories
• Whistle (we will give you one at check-in)
• GPX of course map on phone or device

RUCKING DIVISION
Introducing the new Rucking Division for the 10K! We've got two divisions for Rucking based on weight: Lightweight (15 lbs) and Heavyweight (30 lbs). Both divisions are open to men, women, and nonbinary athletes. You gotta use a pack or ruck for carrying the weight (no weight vests!). The 15 lbs or 30 lbs is your pack's "dry weight", so that's weight before you add water, snacks, your umbrella and poncho etc etc. All rucking participants will receive a GoRuck patch!