Tom Gilbey was left "totally exhausted" after sampling 25 wines whilst taking part in the London Marathon.
(c) Tom Gilbey/TikTok
The 52-year-old had taken part in the nation's third-largest road race on Sunday (21.04.24) to "raise money for the wonderful team at Sobell House hospice" and went viral on TikTok after he uploaded a video of himself sampling a host of different wines throughout but admitted despite his exhaustion, the whole day was "too fabulous" for him to put into words.
He said: "It’s my first experience of this going absolutely mad and I feel very honoured. It’s just incredible and it’s great because that’s what it’s all about. It’s for a great charity and they’re one of many hospices that just work their socks off to make massive differences. 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. I 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 doesn’t matter how painful it was."
Tom had initially hoped to raise £2,000 for his chosen charity but ended up raking in £13,000 in donations and before completing the race in four hours, 41 minutes, just remembered his late mum, who was cared for by the hospice, to get through it all.
He added: "If they were good, I might swallow it and if they were bad, they went on the road. I think the pain of the running allowed me to not feel anything other than the urge to finish. I think it’s a great way to stay sober."