A major accomplishment: Naperville woman set to add Boston to her list of marathons completed

When Soma Jain took the streets of Chicago on Oct. 7, 2012, to watch a friend run the Chicago Marathon, she never imagined the journey that experience would take her on.

Seeing the crowd cheering all of the racers on, she became motivated to put her running shoes on herself.

Just a year later, Jain ran in her first marathon in Chicago. In the 13 years since, Jain — a Naperville resident — has conquered four of the Abbott World Marathon Majors: Chicago, Berlin, New York and Tokyo. On Monday, Jain will bring that tally up to five by running in the Boston Marathon.

“Initially, I started for fun, and then after I did Chicago — and I did five Chicago marathons — I felt maybe I should try other world majors,” Jain said.

As she takes to the starting line at Boston’s Main Street, Jain will be running for the Massachusetts-based nonprofit House of Possibilities (HOPe). The organization is dedicated to improving and enhancing the lives of children and adults with disabilities.

Jain’s hope of running in the Boston Marathon, taking her one step closer to partaking in all of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, was actualized in September 2025, when she was accepted to run for Team HOPe. The organization stood out to Jain because of a personal connection.

“I have family and friends, where they have their children who are adults now, who are going through some kind of disabilities, and the organization understands how to help and make them part of the community,” Jain said. “It’s a big thing. I have seen those families, the hardship they have gone through, so therefore, when I read about Team HOPe, it really caught my eye. They are really doing a great help.”

For every marathon that Jain has run, her preparation begins four months in advance. She does weekly exercise with weights and yoga, biweekly 4-7 mile runs and a weekly longer run, which gets increasingly longer the closer the marathon is.

Preparation for the 130th Boston Marathon began in January. In her buildup to the marathon, Jain has heard many stories about the world’s oldest annual marathon. What Jain is most excited to experience is the crowd, something that was palpable when she ran the New York Marathon in 2024.

“I’ve heard the cheering crowd is amazing,” Jain said. “The people who come to cheer — it’s amazing in Boston. My best experience so far has been in New York. The crowd in New York is outstanding. When I ran the New York Marathon, the whole 26 miles — I didn’t have to think about it. The crowd just carried me through all 26 miles. I didn’t feel a single mile where I would say, ‘Oh my gosh, this is so tiring.’”

Jain’s run at Heartbreak Hill will be her fourth marathon in as many years, as she ran in Berlin in 2023, New York in 2024, and Tokyo in 2025. From 2013 to 2018, Jain ran in the Chicago Marathon each year.

After taking 2019 off, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, forcing Jain to miss years of running. She developed pain in her left leg while working from home as an underwriter handling small business loans. Originally, she never thought she would be able to handle distance running again.

“Even walking was very difficult for me,” Jain said. “I had to take a lot of breaks when I was walking. I couldn’t stand for too long. Then, I got some therapy done and then did some stretches and exercises at home. It took me like a year to come out of that.”

“Initially, I didn’t have the plan for six majors. I just wanted to enjoy and do one marathon, but after running for this much time, I was like, maybe I should just experience the marathons in different countries.”

Her first marathon back was Berlin. Her goal? Simply to finish without injuries.

Now, 31 months later, she is taking on Boston. This time, she hopes that she can feel like she can walk another 5 miles after she finishes the marathon. She would like to keep her time around five and a half hours.

Among the tens of thousands of spectators in attendance will be Jain’s husband, Manish, and daughter, Radhika. Jain said through her journey, her family has been her glue. It is they who keep her going.

“My family is a big supporter of me running. I think without their support, I would not have been running the marathons,” Jain said. “My husband travels with me everywhere I go in all the marathons. He is my biggest supporter.”