Pouring rain, chilling temperatures and continuous wind — it appeared to be another typical Seattle day.

Yet this forecast wasn't for the Pacific Northwest, but rather Boston, Mass., where the 111th Annual Boston Marathon was held last week. At the starting line, 20,640 runners gathered, including UW junior Evan Riggs.

The Boston Marathon is part of the World Marathon Majors circuit. This circuit includes the Chicago, New York, Berlin and London marathons.

Of these races, the Boston Marathon is considered by many to be the most difficult. Its 26.2-mile course winds through eight towns as well as the Newton Hills, a series of four hills finishing with the infamous Heartbreak Hill at mile 20.

The race is also one of the few marathons a runner must qualify for. Times vary depending on age group, but for men ages 18-34, the qualifying time is three hours and 10 minutes or less, about a mile pace of 7:15.

"It's an extremely prestigious race," said Brett Zriny, marathoner and store manager of Road Runner Sports in Green Lake. "Many of our customers' and employees' ultimate goal is to run the Boston. It's a huge achievement to qualify — let alone run it."

Riggs began running competitively last year. His first marathon was the Whidbey Island Marathon in April 2006.

"[Qualifying for Boston was] always on my mind, but more of a lofty, far-fetched goal," Riggs said.

Despite his lower expectations, he took first in his age group at Whidbey, 10th overall, and qualified with a time of 3:09:21.

Following Whidbey Island, Riggs became a full-time marathoner. The runner rarely went a day without running. During training, he ran more than 80 miles a week, he said.

He ran the Vancouver International Marathon in British Columbia in May 2006, followed by the Crater Lake Marathon last summer where he took third place. In November 2006, Riggs competed in the Seattle Marathon where he took 11th overall with a personal record time of 2:51:53. His goal for Boston was 2:45.

Riggs' tendency to push his body to its limit could have set the runner back.

"I initially pulled my hamstring during training in March," Riggs said. "I have a habit of not resting things and pushing things when I shouldn't, but luckily my left hamstring healed without too many problems."

However, later that month his right hamstring started to tense up.

"In the weeks leading up to the race I was icing twice a day and stretching a lot and cut my training down in the last week, which you're supposed to do anyway," Riggs said. "I knew it was going to be an issue during the run, but I hoped that it would surface later rather than sooner."

Around mile five, his hamstring began to hurt again.

"I started to get a little worried, and all of the sudden at mile nine I could feel it go," Riggs said.

Instead of pushing to the end with the 2:45 time he was on pace for, Riggs said he concentrated on reaching the finish line.

"Miles 23 through 26 were the most difficult for me because my leg was absolutely throbbing, and there was still quite a bit more to do," he said. "As always, it felt great to finish, and even though I wasn't satisfied with my time, I definitely have a goal — running Boston in 2:45 next year — and will work harder to make sure I reach it. And, if things bounce the right way, it could even be lower than that."

Riggs finished 688 out of 20,640 runners with a final time of 2:57:01.

Although he has no official coach, Riggs has the continuous support of his friends and family. His father, Pat Riggs, accompanied him to Boston.

"I'm so proud of Evan," Riggs' father said. "His commitment, preparation and effort were impressive. During the run he was singularly focused on doing his best. The race was incredible. ... 22,000 runners committed to complete the race in spite of the challenging weather."

Many of the elite runners were Olympic medalists or previous World Marathon Major Circuit winners.

According to the Boston Marathon Web site, the men's race winner, Robert K. Cheruiyot of Kenya, has won the marathon for the past two years, with a qualifying time of 2:14:13. The women's race winner, Lidiya Grigoryeva of Russia, finished with a time of 2:29:18. First-place winners receive $100,000 as well as 25 points toward the circuit prize of $500,000.

Overall, Riggs remembers his Boston experience as a positive one.

"The entire town came out to see us ... Everyone was really loud and supportive," he said. "On the plane ride home, the pilot said, 'If you've run the marathon, please raise your hand so we can recognize you,' and like 15 hands went up. It was just amazing."

Reach contributing writer Erika Cederland at news@thedaily.washington.edu.