Tom Gilbey, 52, stopped after each mile of the marathon to sample a glass of wine, guessing its vintage, grape variety and country of origin before continuing.
Posting a video of this challenge to his social media, he raised over £14,000 ($AU 26,700) for the palliative care centre, Sobell House.
The video, which garnered over 3.6 million views, shows Gilbey with two wine glasses in his holster, one for reds and one for white wines.
London-based Gilbey got seven wines completely right, four completely wrong, and the rest mostly correct.
Completing the race in four hours and 41 minutes, Gilbey told The Guardian that he feels “very honoured” to have the challenge be so successful.
“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,” he said.
He explained that he avoided feeling tipsy by only taking small sips of wine and spitting it out after tasting.
“If they were good, I might swallow it and if they were bad, they went on the road,” he said. “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.”
Gilbey added that he would not do the challenge again, but that he would absolutely recommend other people to do so.
“I think in life, sometimes you get a silly idea that resonates but two silly ideas rarely resonate, so I’d encourage everybody to have a silly idea for a good cause and see what happens.”
@tomgilbeywine AND WE’VE ONLY DONE A VIDEO … 26.2 miles 25 wines tasted blind 7 fully correct, 4 wrong & 14 mostly right Over £10k raised for @sobell.house Donation link still open in Bio …. BIG FAT THANK YOU ❤️ #londonmarathon #marathon #blindtasting #tomgilbey ♬ original sound - Tom Gilbey
