That’s a bummer .
Kim and Penn have a podcast about each leg of the race with some behind the scenes type stories. I found it through The Holderness Family on Facebook.
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Thanks! Downloaded. I actually love to find a podcast to go along with a reality show I’m watching so episodes can be sliced and diced!
RE: last night’s episode. I thought it miraculous that the principal and his wife somehow did not get eliminated, given how long it took her to navigate the task walking on the cliff.
Now, the preview for next week shows her preparing to presumably bungee-jump off of a dam! Given her clear fear of heights, shouldn’t her husband be doing some of the height-related challenges? I thought there was some rule about one team member not doing all of the challenges?
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I like them. I’m glad they live to race another day.
I was curious what shape the racers were in after 19 months. Arun looked healthier this time around. I’m curious how soon the eliminated racers knew they were given the option to get back, like did they have time to lose weight or learn to drive a stick better or study geography?
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I too was glad they were not the last team. I think they got the flag challenge quickly and did not get lost driving.
Was sorry that the two guys went first again. Had sort of thought it might be a non-elimination since the teams all disrupted their lives AGAIN to come back.
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One of the racers was disappointed the car in Switzerland was an automatic—she wanted to show off her manual transmission skills----do not recall if she had trouble with stick in Glasgow or not, and took the time off to learn stick.
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At least one of the original noneliminated teams that knew they were returning used the 19 months to work on areas where they had been weak. I too am curious about how much notice the “second life” teams had about returning and if they used the time to prepare. The teams this season are in the unique position of having a long “pit stop” which could be to their advantage.
The eliminated team took a gamble on the detour and lost. Sorry to see them go but they have great attitudes.
Remarkably, Akbar and Sheri (principal and wife) were able to make up time lost on the roadblock. I really like this team but neither appear to be in the best physical condition. I would have thought they would have spent their time off getting in shape after they struggled in the first couple of legs.
Did anyone else notice that there were hardly any people on the streets? I was wondering if the area was in a lockdown, or if they blocked off areas to those not associated with the filming, or if they were filming at the crack of dawn before normal residents were out. It just seemed very empty.
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Yes, I too noticed that the streets were empty. Did they clear the course for the racers? Interestingly, none of the racers or locals assisting with the roadblock/detour were masked.
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I listened to Kim and Penn’s podcast and they said when they were first approached to come back they said no. The producers contacted them again and laid out all of the safety precautions so they assumed others were hesitant about returning as well.
Before the first episode, Kim and Penn took an orienteering class at REI which was helpful for them. I thought that was interesting.
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I also am listening to Kim and Penn’s podcast. Some good insight into lots of things we don’t see on the screen.
They said they trained running 5 miles with heavy backpacks - Wowser. Sounds like Penn is a pretty fast runner to begin with.
I thought the mountain task looked crazy frightening. I would have passed out on the gondola thing and never had the chance to try the task!
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Taylor & Isaiah planned to rejoin the race. However, Taylor’s brother passed away from COVID 2 days before their flight out. How sad.
Anthony & Spencer opted not to return since Anthony just started a new job and felt it was inappropriate to ask for the time off.
Hopefully they can participate in a future season.
They said he had to change guides on the mountain because the first one couldn’t keep up with him!
They also mentioned a few other podcasts, including one that was by previous racers but I couldn’t find most of them.
I felt for Sheri - I don’t like heights or storms and my heart was actually racing as I watched her. I thought she was going to get stuck there for a while if there was no visibility. I also felt for Michael and Moe, although now they can be the answer to an Amazing Race trivia question of the only team to be eliminated twice in one season. Loved when one of them said it stung a little less the second time. I’m thinking the lack of people may be the rural locations they picked. People may have been at work or otherwise occupied. That girl on the welcome mat looked like she had no idea what was going on so maybe there’s no familiarity there with this weird American tv show.
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Personally I think Sheri’s husband treats her like dirt. He’s mean, he speaks terribly to her, and he appears to have zero compassion. When she was on the mountain I thought her guide was kinder to her than her own spouse.
I’m a Penn & Kim (Holderness) fan. I also discovered them on FB when the pandemic first started. They did some videos that had me laughing out loud at a time when laughing was hard. I’m rooting for them all the way!
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Did Sheri mention something about Akbar being too big for the mountain challenge? I thought I heard her say that is why she stepped up but I’m not sure.
In Kim & Penn’s podcast they interviewed Michael and Moe. Michael said that some of the challenges had weight limits so he needed to be under 250lbs to make sure he could compete in all of the challenges. I wonder if that is why Sheri had to do the mountain challenge.
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Sheri did say that. I too wondered if there was a weight limit.
Akbar can get down on Sheri - but I also have to say she seems maybe a little too chill for AR!!!
But if he says one more time “she was a Division 1 athlete”!!! Have you seen your wife doing “division 1” things the last 2 decades!!!
Yeah, they probably don’t want a 250+ person slipping and pulling the guide, and potentially other contestants, down the mountain. 
I missed the weight limit part - he still doesn’t need to treat her like dirt.