Fire + Ice Ultra — 250 km, Iceland’s toughest foot race Enter 2027
A week on and I am still buzzing from the experience. The course was not just spectacular but also very well marked, and the support team were all fun yet professional in ensuring our safety (if not comfort!) in the Highlands.
Alex · 2026 finisher
We showed up as strangers, but left as friends, united through the bond of suffering.
Konan Stephens · 2026 finisher
I’ll recommend the Fire and Ice to everyone. Especially those who hate their feet and feel the need to be punished. Legends, the lot of you.
Matt Spashett · 2026 finisher
I wanted to thank you all from the bottom of my heart — the technical and medical staff, and all the amazing runners with whom I had the honour of sharing this wonderful adventure.
Alexander Bertuccioli · 2026 finisher
It was my privilege to meet so many amazing, warm and special people. I cried leaving the restaurant. It felt like leaving family.
Michel · 2026 finisher
Massive thanks to the crew for an amazing job of looking after us.
Alex Baker · 2026 finisher

HomeAbout

About us

Fourteen editions.
One landscape.

The first Fire + Ice Ultra set off in 2012. It has run every year since, with the single exception of 2020, and it is organised by a small crew who have run and directed multi-day ultras all over the world.

Why the interior

The gateway to the heart of Iceland opens for only a few weeks each year. For seven to nine months the interior is closed by snow and river levels, which is what keeps it as it is. Some sections of our course are used by the Fire + Ice Ultra and by nobody else.

We run in partnership with Vatnajökull National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. That relationship shapes everything from the route to the campsites. In places the crew sweep away the footprints of the runners who have passed, so the ground looks as it did before the race came through.

We treat this land as home. Our job is to show it to sixty people a year and leave it exactly as we found it.

Herðubreið, the flat-topped table mountain known as the Queen of Iceland, seen across the ash plain
Herðubreið — the Queen of Iceland

The team

Who runs the race

A small core team, and a volunteer crew most of whom come back year after year. Between them they have crewed, medicked and directed multi-day ultras on four continents.

Race Director

David Annandale

Has organised the Fire + Ice Ultra since the first edition in 2012, and directs the event on the ground.

Course Director

Fabio Strinna

Measures, marks and manages the route each year with the National Park, and leads the course team during the race.

Logistics & Travel

Jórunn Jónsdóttir

From All-Iceland, the race’s official travel partner since 2012. Runs accommodation, transport and every competitor’s journey to Race HQ.

Behind them are the course team who set out and sweep every flag, a professional medical team at checkpoints and in camp, the camp team who have the tents up before the first runner arrives, and the volunteer crew who make the checkpoints work. Many of them are former competitors. A small number of new crew places open each year.

2012
First edition
14
Editions run
250km
Measured each year
60
Places in 2027

Entries open for 2027

Sixty places.
30 August – 4 September 2027.

£2,800 · £700 deposit secures your place.

Enter the 2027 race Event information Entry starts with the race pack