When Estonian runner Ida Isabel Kert takes her place at the start of the London Landmarks Half‑Marathon on April 12, she’ll be doing far more than chasing a finish time as every step she takes will help raise vital funds for Newlife.

Taking on any marathon or half‑marathon is a huge challenge in itself, but travelling to another country for a major event could feel daunting. For Ida, though, the excitement of such a challenge still outweighs any nerves.

Here she explains a little more about why she wanted to run the London Landmarks event for Newlife.

“I wanted to experience a world-class foreign running event,” she explains. “When I started looking around and found out about London Landmarks it made sense to me in a second. I love London, my best friend lives there and it’s such a major event with iconic views.”

Still, preparing for a race abroad hasn’t come without its worries – including the unpredictable Estonian weather during training and the logistics of travelling solo with no family to cheer her on from the sidelines. But for Ida these challenges are exactly what makes this journey meaningful.

“Running for Newlife really means a lot to me. Since I’m not chasing PB (Personal Best) nor my longest distance this time around, I am overwhelmed with the feeling that I can do this half-marathon for charity!

“I can’t deny that the training period has been really hard for me, so having the knowledge that I’m not doing it just for myself, or for fun, or for training, but for something way greater than that is keeping me on track. I am so grateful for everyone who was ready to support disabled children and backed my goal to help them! I truly hope to have some positive impact – and that’s what keeps me going!”

Also helping is that Ida’s friend, Anna-Maria, is taking part in the half-marathon – and is running for Newlife too.

“This is my second half-marathon, but it’s also special thanks to the fact that I’m able to do it with my best friend right next to me. Since she is not a big fan of running, to say the least, it means the world for me that she is willing to do it to show her support to me.

On another personal note, Ida says pushing herself to run the London Landmarks event and crossing the finish line will prove to herself that she can do hard things and conquer hard times.

“Even when there are a lot of obstacles in the way I will show up, put in the work and just do it. If I can do it with running, why wouldn’t I be able to do it with anything else?

She also has a message for anyone considering taking on a similar challenge for Newlife: “Just start. Start slow and go past 5k, this is where the horrible feeling usually goes away!

“Running quite literally changed my life, but it happened only thanks to a fact that I stopped pushing for maximum effort speed wise and calmed down. Going further but slower allowed me to somewhat enjoy running so then running changed my mental health, my mentality, what I believe about myself, my relationship with myself and also my body.”

To support Ida’s London Landmarks challenge please visit Ida Isabel Kert • London Landmarks Half Marathon 2026