THUNDER CHICKEN SQUATCH
It's time to GET STOKED AT STOKES! This Sassquad Trail Party is at the beautiful Stokes State Forest in Branchville, NJ. Join us on Sunday August 10, 2025 for the Thunder Chicken Squatch! Runners and hikers of all ages and paces can sign up for the 10K or the 17 miler. We will be honoring the individuals who have sacrificed so much to serve our country by offering 50% off entries to all Active-Duty Military, National Guard, Reserves and Veterans! If you are in the Military or are a Veteran, please use the code THUNDERCHICKEN to save 50%! We will recognize all of our military runners/hikers before the race. Please visit our website for the complete details on this race, course maps, gpx files etc!
WHAT IS THE THUNDER CHICKEN?
So what exactly is... "Thunder Chicken"? We are so glad you asked! Long-story-short, one of our runners serves in the US Army and when we invited her on our podcast in 2021, we found out that her "call-sign" in the Army is THUNDER CHICKEN! And as we mentioned before, we are honoring our military runners/hikers with this trail party, so "Thunder Chicken" was the obvious choice for this race's name! You can check out that podcast episode HERE The Thunder Chicken Story is at the 54 minute mark! Remember, if you are serving in the Armed Forces right now or you are a Veteran, please use the code THUNDER CHICKEN to save 50% as a small way for us to say thank-you!
BIGGER THAN THE TRAIL
We are proud to partner with Bigger Than The Trail . BTTT is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that is using trail running as a platform to advocate for mental health. BTTT's mission is to enrich the lives of individuals struggling with mental health. Through their fundraising efforts, BTTT provides free therapy to those in need! Please consider making a donation to BTTT: Bigger Than the Trail to provide cost-free therapy for folks in need.
TRAIL PARTY DETAILS
All events start at 9am; check-in 8:15am-8:45am
We have a 6 hour cut-off for all events. This comes out to 21 min/mi for the 17 milers. There are no on-course cut-offs for the 10K and 5K. 17 miler must reach the mile 7.65 aid station by 11:20am. Our Sweepers will leave the start/finish area at behind the last runners/hikers to start making their way around the course to take down the course markers. Final course cutoff is 3pm. As with all of our events, Squatchers over the age of 60 and AWD (athletes with disabilities) can have a pacer/guide at any time. Please use this form to pre-register your pacers. Pacers are not allowed for other runners and hikers without prior approval from the Trail Party Director.
SQUATCH KIDS CLUB
We want the WHOLE family to come out to our events! Kids under the age of 19 can score 15% off their registration with the code SQUATCHKIDSCLUB. We also have some free entries available for youth athletes; email us to learn more! We have a special discount code for families registering 3 or more Squatches in the same household. Please email trailpartydirector@sassquadtrailrunning.com before you register so we can give you the code! We recognize and celebrate our young adventurers by giving out wooden star medallions to kids who are registered AND to kids who come to spectate with their families. It's our way of saying thank you for being a part of our community and for embracing the spirit of adventure! We want families to come to our Trail Parties! We have a range of fun games that your family can enjoy: corn hole, connect four, a giant rainbow parachute and the Squatch Hunt. Don't be shy, head on over to the Finish Line and join in on the fun! Learn more about our Squatch Kids Club!
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Much of course is very technical - this means that there are a lot of rocks and roots! Again - there are a lot of rocks and roots! The 17 miler is not recommended to kids under the age of 14. Trekking poles could be helpful for some folks. We recommend a sturdy pair of trail shoes that have good grip/lugs. There is about 1,500 ft of gain in the 17 mile loop. There is about 600 ft gain in the 10K loop; the course is a bit long, closer to 6.6 miles! The 5K has roughly 325 ft of gain.
SQUATCH DISCOUNTS
Sassquad Trail Running is proud to offer 20% off all events to all active duty military and Veterans, teachers and hopital workers. Please email trailpartydirector@sassquadtrailrunning.com before you register for an event so we can provide you with a discount code. We extend a 10% discount to our Wise Elder Squatch Squad (folks who are over the age of 60); email us for the the code! New York-New Jersey Trail Conference Members and South Mountain Conservancy members can receive 10% off of registration; please email us for the discount code!
COURSE MARKINGS
Both events use the very well marked Blue Mountain Trail. We will only be adding large red directional arrows at each of the turns. Runners/hikers will use the existing blue blazes that are maintained by our friends at the New York New Jersey Trail Conference. Watch this video from the Squatch Trail School to learn how to navigate at the Thunder Chicken Squatch!
FAQs
Q: Can I have a pacer?
A:As with all of our events, Squatchers over the age of 60 and AWD (athletes with disabilities) can have a pacer/guide at any time. Please use this form to pre-register your pacers. Pacers are not allowed for other runners and hikers without prior approval from the Trail Party Director.
Q: I'm military. What code can I use to save 50%?
A: Please use the code THUNDERCHICKEN
Q: What's the story behind "Thunder Chicken"?
A: It's the call-sign for one of our runners who is active-duty Army!
Q: Will I see Sasquatch?
A: We sure hope you do! Make sure you take a selfie with him if you see Squatchy out there!
Q: What's so great about Stokes State Forest?
A: Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now!
Q: Uhh are you singing that song from Hamilton?
A: History is happening ... at Stokes... and we just happen to be in the greatest city in the world! In the greatest city in the world!
Q: Will there be an aid station at the park for me to get food or water?
A: WERK! WERK! Yup! We'll have a full station and a water-only aid station on the 17M course. There is a water-only aid station for the 10Kers.
Q: Tell me about the SWAG!
A: Were you paying attention when we told you the first time? Go ahead, sing Thomas Jefferson's song... "So what did I miss? What did I miss?!" All runners/hikers will get a handcrafted wood medal that's made locally in the Squatch Shop! Runners/hikers will also choose a swag item from our Squatch Shop.
Q: What address should I use to get to the park?
A: 1 Coursen Road, Branchville, NJ.
Q: I don't feel like reading the course description. Will the course be marked?
A: Why do you assume you're the smartest in the room? Soon that attitude may be your doom. It's always a good idea to be over-prepared. So read the course description and know that the course will be well-marked.
Q: Can I bring my dog?
A: NO. Our insurance policy does not cover dogs at our races. Thanks for understanding.
Q: Can I register my kids for this race?
A: YES! We love having families join us. If you are registering 3 or more squatches, please email us for a discount code! trailpartydirector@sassquadtrailrunning.com
Q: Thanks for answering my questions... Do you have any other advice?
A: Da da da dat da dat da da da da ya da da da dat dat da ya da! Da da da dat da dat da da da da ya da da da dat dat da ya da!
Q: Me and my friend aren't registered for the race, but we're still planning on coming to run. We won't eat from the aid station or take a medal or swag. This is okay, right?
A: NO THIS IS NOT OKAY. This is called being a "race bandit" and it is stealing. Not paying for a race and running the race is stealing from the race organization (even if you're not taking food or swag). Don't do this at a Sassquad trail party or ANY other race. It's not okay. And if you hear about someone else doing this, call them out. If you bandit a race, you will be banned from registering for any of our Sassquad events.
SKRATCH
We are excited to share that our friends over at Skratch Labs are official Sassquad sponsors! We will be proudly serving Skratch Hydration at the on-course aid stations for the 17 miler. Sassquaders can save 20% by using the code SASSQUAD24 at skratchlabs.com
SASSQUAD TRAIL RUNNERS
We are a community of SASQUATCH-lovin' trail runners and hikers. Our goal is to provide FUN and challenging events for runners of all ages and paces. We like to think that we have a good sense of humor, a full arsenal of sarcastic wit, useless trivia facts and a deep appreciation for cinematic masterpieces (as evidenced multiple times already). Follow us on Instagram , and like us on Facebook to get all of our Squatchy updates. You can also join our Facebook group, "Sassquad Trail Runners" to connect with other runners and hikers!
REFUNDS/DEFERRALS
Like many other race organizations, we do not offer refunds for our events. Please take the time to double check your calendar before registering for a Trail Party. Please understand that we do not offer refunds under any circumstances. If you notify us via email (not through social media, text or phone call) more than 21 days from the date of the Trail Party, we will extend a deferral to any of our events that fall within one calendar year of the Trail Party that you were registered for. If you sustain an injury less than 21 days from the race date, we will extend a deferral if you come to that race to volunteer for at least 4 hours. If the race that you want to drop from is sold-out with an active wait-list and are able to fill your spot: if you notify us via email (not through social media, text or phone call) at least 3 days before the race, we will extend a deferral to any of our events that fall within one calendar year of the Trail Party that you were registered for. The race credit is the amount that you paid for the race (not including UltraSignUp fees) so you will need to cover any difference in fees; refunds will not be issued if the deferred event costs less than your race credit. You can only defer one time so please doublecheck that you can make the race you're deferring to.
Event's current local time: 1:40 PM ET
