LONDON DAILY ARCHIVE
London Marathon's 'Wine Guy' Surpasses £13k Fundraising Target, Sampling 25 Wines Along the Way
Tom Gilbey, a wine merchant and avid runner, completed the London Marathon while blind tasting a different wine at each mile, raising over £13,000 for a hospice charity.
24 April 2024 · 00:10 UTC






Gilbey started his wine tasting at around 9:30 am, shortly after the race began.
A man named Gilbey aimed to raise £2,000 for Sobell House hospice in Oxford through running the London Marathon in memory of his mum who received care there before her passing.
His fundraiser has surpassed £13,000.
Gilbey shared on his JustGiving page that he was running to honor the hospice team and jokingly hoped not to die during the race.
He ran the marathon while sampling a glass of wine after each mile, tasting a total of 25 wines.
Gilbey completed the marathon in 4 hours and 41 minutes, including stops for drinking.
He reported getting four wines wrong, seven correct, and the rest mostly right.
A man expressed his excitement and honor during his first participation in a chaotic wine race for charity.
The event featured various types of wines, from inexpensive ones to expensive barolo.
He found humor in the unexpected obstacles, such as being overtaken by a fridge and a double-humped camel.
Despite the challenges, he remained cheerful knowing that the event supported hospices making significant differences.