A wine merchant who blind tasted a different glass of wine at each mile of the London Marathon has said he feels âhonouredâ his challenge went viral on social media, as he surpassed his fundraising target.
Tom Gilbey, nicknamed âthe wine guyâ, sampled 25 glasses of wine during the race, stopping to guess the drinkâs grape variety, country of origin and vintage at each mile.
A video he posted on TikTok has amassed more than 3.2m views. He had his first sip at about 9.30am, shortly after the race began.
Gilbey said he aimed to raise £2,000 for Sobell House hospice charity in Oxford, which looked after his mum in her final days of life. His fundraiser has now passed £13,000.
On his JustGiving page he said he was running the London Marathon âto raise money for the wonderful team at Sobell House hospice, who nursed and cared for my dear Mum in her last few daysâ, and that he hoped to ânot die doing itâ.
Gilbey, based in London, said the marathon went âreally wellâ and that he had been spurred on by the treat of a taste of wine after each mile.
Of the 25 glasses sampled, he said he got seven wines spot on, two out of three correct for nine glasses, one out of three for five glasses and four completely wrong.
He completed the race in four hours, 41 minutes, including stops for drinking. âItâs my first experience of this going absolutely mad and I feel very honoured,â he said.
âItâs just incredible and itâs great because thatâs what itâs all about. Itâs for a great charity and theyâre one of many hospices that just work their socks off to make massive differences.â
The wines ranged from bottles bought at petrol stations, mini bottles and canned wine, to a £40 barolo.
âIt was hilarious because when youâre overtaken by a fridge and double-humped camel, you could get really depressed unless you knew there was a nice wine around the corner with some friendly faces to support you,â he said.
Gilbey, who runs wine businesses and events, said he had avoided feeling tipsy by only drinking small sips of wine, or by spitting it out after tasting.
âIf they were good, I might swallow it and if they were bad, they went on the road,â he said. âI think the pain of the running allowed me to not feel anything other than the urge to finish. I think itâs a great way to stay sober.â
He celebrated his achievement by drinking a glass of champagne after completing the race.
âI was totally exhausted, totally cooked, but it was just such a great day and the atmosphere is just too fabulous for words so really, it doesnât matter how painful it is,â Gilbey said.
Asked if he would ever take on a similar challenge again, he said: â100% not, but if you asked me if I would advise anybody else to do something like this, I would go, 100% yes.
âI think in life, sometimes you get a silly idea that resonates but two silly ideas rarely resonate, so Iâd encourage everybody to have a silly idea for a good cause and see what happens.â