In 2012, Ilka was named „Runner of the Year“ by the German Athletics Association (DLV) and laufen.de together with Jan Fitschen and Anna Hahner. Since 2013, she is an asics Frontrunner and the face of various running event series (Deutsche Post Ladies Run, Urbanian Run, etc.). She is also working as a running coach on AIDA cruise ships and for brands including mymuelsi, BASE, Unilever, etc. In addition to being a personal trainer, she also holds lectures on running and works as an editor and running expert for several magazines and contributes and speaks for the Runtastic Story Runs. In 2015, Ilka completed her Bachelor of Arts in sports at the Hamburg University as well as her coaching licenses (C license and TRX training). Also in 2015, she realized her dream of running the New York marathon.