Dubai's coolest race is back: Tackle 20+ obstacles at -4°C while it's 45°C outside

Dubai: There are not many places in the world where you can do an obstacle course in the snow in September, and fewer still where it is 45C in the car park outside.

The Ice Warrior Challenge returns to Ski Dubai on Sunday 20 September for its 17th year, run in partnership with Dubai Sports Council. Early bird registration is open now, and it is a reasonably good idea to sort it before the middle of the month, because the prices go up.

More than 20 obstacles, spread across the resort, at minus 4C.

The list includes rope walls, ice pools, monkey bars, tyre runs and net crawls. It is designed to be done in a group as much as solo, and a fair proportion of participants each year are corporate teams and groups of friends rather than serious athletes.

Last year's edition drew more than 560 participants across 69 nationalities, which gives you a sense of the crowd. It is not an elite field.

Elite: Dh250 early bird, Dh280 standard. For experienced competitors aiming to finish in under 25 minutes.

Individual: Dh200 early bird, Dh250 standard. Open to any fitness level.

Teams: Dh185 per person early bird, Dh200 standard. Groups of four to six.

The team rate is the cheapest per head, which is presumably deliberate and does make it the obvious option if you can round up three friends.

Early bird pricing ends: 15 August

Standard rates apply from: 16 August

Registration closes: 18 September

Event day: Sunday 20 September

Entry is through Premier Online. Open to men and women aged 15 to 60.

New this year is a spectator pass, which lets friends and family into the snow to watch rather than waiting in the mall.

Worth knowing if you have a partner who fancies the atmosphere but not the ice pool.

Everyone who finishes the course receives a medal and a souvenir T-shirt, handed over when you return your timing chip.

Minus 4C is genuinely cold, particularly once you are wet, and the ice pool guarantees that you will be. Ski Dubai provides the standard cold-weather kit for regular visitors, but check what is included with your entry and what you are expected to bring, especially gloves and appropriate footwear.

Grip matters more than anything else on a course like this. Trail shoes with a decent tread will serve you considerably better than road runners on packed snow.

And the temperature swing is real. You are going from a September afternoon in Dubai into sub-zero conditions and back out again within a couple of hours, so bring dry clothes for afterwards rather than sitting in the food court in wet gear.

If you want a hard race, the elite bracket and its 25-minute target will give you one. If you want a novelty morning with a medal at the end and photographs your colleagues will not stop sending round, the individual and team options are pitched exactly at that.

Either way, you will be one of very few people who can say they got hypothermic in Dubai in September.