Runner gulps down 25 glasses of wine during the London marathon: ‘I was totally exhausted’
He crossed the finish wine.
A wine merchant raised the bar for boozers and runners alike after blind tasting 25 glasses of vino during the London marathon — nearly one for each mile. The som-mile-ier’s running performance currently boasts 3.9 million views on TikTok.
“I was totally exhausted, totally cooked, but it was just such a great day,” Tom Gilbey, who runs wine businesses, told the Guardian of his grape accomplishment.
Known as the “wine guy” on TikTok, the Brit frequently films himself doing various tipple taste tests and demonstrating how to get the best wine for your buck.
For his latest feat of hepatic fortitude, the vintner sprinter decided to run the London marathon to raise $2,487 for his Sobell House hospice charity in Oxford, which cared for his mother during her final days. So far, they’ve raised over $16,000.
As an added challenge, the multi-flasker decided to sample a glass of wine for every mile run, along with guessing the drink’s variety, country of origin and vintage.
“Shiraz, Australia, 2022,” Gilbey correctly guesses after sampling one of the glasses, which were handed out along the route like water.
Of the 25 glasses, he reportedly got seven 100% correct, four completely wrong, and the remainder mostly right (meaning he might’ve missed one of the criteria).
Nonetheless, this feat was especially impressive given that the samples ran the gamut from gas station offerings to $50 bottles of Barolo.
Gilbey reportedly finished the race in four hours and 41 minutes, including wine stops, which he celebrated by drinking a glass of champagne after the finish line.
The Brit felt that the wine paradoxically made the 26-plus-mile race not feel so interminable.
“It was hilarious because when you’re 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,” he declared.
Despite boozing while cruising, Gilbey claimed that the agony of running made him feel nothing but the “urge to finish,” joking that it was a “great way to stay sober.”
Nonetheless, the grape enthusiast said he purposefully avoided downing all the offerings in order to avoid passing out mid-race, explaining: “If they were good, I might swallow it and if they were bad, they went on the road.”
Needless to say, TikTok viewers were impressed by his literal drinking marathon.
“This man drank 26 different wines & still managed a sub 5 marathon. Let that sink in,” gushed one fan.
Another wrote, “Being a marathon runner AND a sommelier are two of the most pretentious hobbies but I absolutely love this guy.”
“All the back labels said they’d pair wonderfully with some cheese or gentle marathon,” quipped a third.
Ultimately, Gilbey is glad he could get sauced for a good cause.
“It’s just incredible and it’s great because that’s what it’s all about,” he said. “It’s for a great charity and they’re one of many hospices that just work their socks off to make massive differences.”
While the runner claims he’d “100%” never partake in such a challenge again, he encourages “everybody to have a silly idea for a good cause and see what happens.”
Gilbey’s booze run might be impressive, but it pales in comparison to this Chinese grandpa, who ran 26.2 miles in just 3.5 hours while smoking cigarettes.
