‘The round that round veterans aspire to’ is how I have heard the Rigby Round described. You only need to glance at the roll call of some of those who have accomplished the ‘Cairngorms in one go’ challenge to appreciate such a notion: Rigby, Berzins, Keith, Woodall, Raistrick, Fleetwood, Gay, Ohly, Mann. The connoisseur’s round may be an even better description.
The route visits the 18 Munros of the Cairngorms and is characterised by the requirements of its eponymous originator: solo, unsupported and on-site. Those three things make something already hard even harder. By my reckoning, only 15 people in 31 years had run the round within 24 hours, and eight of those 15 were solo.
Encouraged by the example of John Ryan and Graham Nash, who completed the round in June, I set out from the start of the Moine path by Auchlean in Glenfeshie, breaking the accepted thinking that the round should start and finish in the Loch Morlich/Glenmore area.
After two hours of darkness and a further three hours of clag, the clouds broke up, offering exceptional clarity. After 12 hours I was on Ben Avon, as far east as the round goes, contemplating my dwindling energy, sleep deprivation and the enormity of what remained, calculating that there were at least seven big climbs to go. But it is hard to bail a Rigby Round. You are a very long way from anywhere and the best course of action was to simply carry on, regardless of how much suffering was to come.
My ‘new’ route meant a descent of the plateau west of Cairn Gorm via March Burn, then a rising traverse from the Pools of Dee to the shoulder of Braeriach. From there, I stumbled downhill to Sgor Gaoith, becoming embroiled in a confusion of lochans.
I remember sprinting down the road at the end of my Bob Graham, happily jogging off the Ben in my Ramsay. Descending Sgor Gaoith as a neon sun set fire to the western sky was purgatory.
It was finally over after 21 hours and 32 minutes. My mileage of a little less than 71 is probably as low as anyone has managed for the round, but that did not make my journey quicker. While I am glad to have done the Rigby differently, I would not recommend Glenfeshie as a starting place. I will try to grapple with the ‘why’ over the next few days, but after the pain comes a deep-rooted satisfaction. The harder the run, the greater the reward.
Jonny Muir