Q&A: India Hicks talks (and runs) marathons

India Hicks is a glorious force to be reckoned with, somewhat in line with the Energizer bunny and a tornado that keeps picking up speed and momentum. Between spending time with her husband and four children, blogging, tweeting, and working with Crabtree & Evelyn on her India Hicks Island Living and Island Night fragrance collections, Hicks ran a marathon (her third!). Lara Tobin sat down with the interior designer and former model, in town to attend the Canadian Fragrance Awards, to chat about the experience.

So I hear you have just finished a marathon. That’s amazing!
“And I’ve done two other marathons, the London Marathon both times. In London there are 37,000 other runners who are running for causes to raise money. It’s just amazing what people do and there’s this extraordinary sense of support.

“And you know, as you’re running along it’s incredible what you see [when] you get to mile 17 and you’re about to die and give up and a blind man tied to a guide runs past you and you think ‘what am I doing? Get up and move!’ But every time it’s like having a baby. Every time you say never again.”

Which charity were you running for?
“I did it for two charities, but predominantly the school on Harbour Island [Bahamas], and [for] Whizz Kids in London. I live between two countries; I wanted to be able to support both.”

You live in the Bahamas for part of the year—how did you train there?
“I would take a boat to the other island and train [there]. It’s a whole process, you’re getting up very early, you want to combat the heat before [it] really starts. You start running in the dark, you’ve got to pay for someone to get you over there, you’ve got to tell them to get up early, it’s a real commitment.”

So you train outside of the Bahamas as well?
“Yes. In a new city I ask the hotel concierge ‘where’s a running park, what do you suggest?’ It’s a great way of seeing a place.”

What do you think about during the marathon?
“Training by myself on the roads without the support of the crowd [or] of other people beside you, and you’re alone [for] twenty miles. That’s four hours and there‘s a moment where it becomes sort of an out-of-body experience and your legs are just going and your mind is somewhere completely different. I think the endorphins get to such a different level by that stage that you are literally naturally addicted.”

What are some of the ways that you reward yourself?
“A big fat bagel with peanut butter. That’s always what I’m dreaming about when I come back.”

Can you even get bagels in the Bahamas?
“You can, but they’re not very nice. That’s one of the things I care about in America.”

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