After an injury related lay off, I'm looking to get back on the fells, and I've earmarked this Sunday as my first race of the 2018 season. I've created a calendar for myself for the coming year with the races I'm wanting to do, but for this first race I have a clash - it's either the Hope Winter Fell Race or Hoppit's Hill. Hope is closer and more like the terrain I like, but, oddly, kit requirements and an 'NS required' still make me nervous.
Does anybody have any experience of the Hope Winter Race - is it generally well marked and marshalled? Is the course fairly easy to follow? I've done several nearby races - Bamford, Hathersage etc - but these have generally been summer affairs. I'm expecting to be in the back 20% of runners, and don't want to be too strung out/getting lost in these temperatures!