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.
We showed up as strangers, but left as friends, united through the bond of suffering.
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.
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.
It was my privilege to meet so many amazing, warm and special people. I cried leaving the restaurant. It felt like leaving family.
Massive thanks to the crew for an amazing job of looking after us.
The weather on the course is very variable and can get cold. Temperatures can drop below freezing — uncommon during the day, but frequent at night. Your sleep system and clothing need to be adequate for nights well below freezing.
The race starts at around 900 m (roughly 3,000 feet) and stays in the mountains for the first few days, which makes the weather cooler and less predictable than the coast.
If you feel the cold, adjust your clothing choices accordingly. Many competitors carry a warmer sleeping bag than the minimum in the kit list, and accept the extra weight. If it becomes very cold we issue the drop bags; the kit list explains how those work.
The single most common avoidable problem we see is people who are cold in camp in the evening, not on the course. Keep a set of dry, warm clothes for the evening and put the damp running kit back on in the morning.
Most Icelanders rely on the Norwegian weather service, yr.no, which they find more reliable, and it publishes statistics so you can see previous average temperatures. Look for the stations around Akureyri and the northern highlands for the first few stages.
Even when the forecast for race week looks good, it can change very quickly. Pack for the worst of it.
Entries open for 2027
£2,800 · £700 deposit secures your place.