Category Archives: London Marathon

London Marathon ‘wine guy’ on how he sampled 25 wines during race

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Vintner Tom Gilbey raised more than £13,000 for hospice charity with challenge that went viral on social media

A wine merchant who blind tasted a different glass of wine at each mile of the London Marathon has said he feels “honoured” his challenge went viral on social media, as he surpassed his fundraising target.

Tom Gilbey, nicknamed “the wine guy”, sampled 25 glasses of wine during the race, stopping to guess the drink’s grape variety, country of origin and vintage at each mile.

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Anoosheh Ashoori: London Marathon dream of Iran detainee nears reality

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British-Iranian who set goal while at notorious Evin prison says he wants ‘something good to come out of all that pain’

Serving a minimum 10-year sentence in Iran’s notorious Evin prison on spying charges, Anoosheh Ashoori, a 68-year-old British-Iranian retired engineer, knew he must find purpose if he was to avoid insanity.

He pledged that one day, when he was released, he would run the London Marathon. It was an ambitious dream, especially for a man who was not very fit and or expecting to be freed before the age of 73.

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Nurse in trousers told her London Marathon record would not count

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Guinness World Records says Jessica Anderson needed to have had a dress on to qualify

An NHS nurse who ran the London Marathon was told her Guinness World Record attempt would not count because she was not wearing a dress.

Jessica Anderson, who has been working for the Royal London Hospital’s acute admission unit for seven years, was aiming to become the fastest female marathon runner dressed as a nurse but her scrubs and trousers did not match the uniform criteria.

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Mo Farah v Haile Gebrselassie: row, recriminations and what next?

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A hotel room theft, blackmail and a gym brawl are among the accusations thrown in a very public falling out between two athletics greats who were once friends

A sedate Wednesday morning press conference for this weekend’s London marathon appeared to be over when Mo Farah suddenly raised his hand and began to speak. Clearly Britain’s four-time Olympic champion had something to get off his chest. “Training has gone well, and everything else,” he said, “but there was a slight problem with my hotel in Ethiopia.”

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