Amazing Race 10 Tidbits -- Thoughts and Outlook

Amazing Race Tidbits

CBS' The Amazing Race 10th Edition

Thoughts on Episode 9 and Outlook for Episode 10

Thoughts on Episode Nine -- Finland

Episode Nine ended with a surprise. James and Tyler improved, as did Lyn and Karlyn.

In Madagascar, teams were offered tickets to Paris, "Due to limited availability of flights out" of the country. If teams chose, they could still book different flights to Finland. With extensive research, all teams ended up on one flight and set of connections. Lyn and Karlyn barely made the flight to Johannesburg leaving at 5AM. From Johannesburg, teams traveled to Addis Ababa, Ethopia, and Frankfurt, Germany, before landing in Helsinki, Finland.

In Helsinki, teams had to find the Kappeli coffee house , and log into computers there with their AOL screennames to receive a very important message. It turned out that the messages were mostly encouragement from their family members back home. That part really got to single moms, Lyn and Karlyn, who had to be missing their kids.

The teams then had to take a train to Tempere, and then cabs to the school for the Detour, Soppeenharjun Koulu. The Cho brothers tried mightily to continue being polite, and allowing the public at the cab stand to take their turns ahead of them, in contrast to Karlyn. She explained that it is a race. Will that contrast in attitude make the difference in crunch time?

Detour

Swamp This: Teams had to put on cross country skis and pass through a 1 mile course, with one obstacle along the way, to reach the next clue.

Swamp That: The Teams had to cover on foot an obstacle course through mud to reach the next clue. Along the way, one team member had to carry the other for a short distance.

All teams got muddy as a result of passing over the obstacle and then dropping into a mud pit, which seemed deeper and longer in Swamp That.

Episode Nine Detour
Members	Detour Selected	Result
Tyler and James	Swamp That	Strong run for first, Tyler carried James
Karlyn and Lyn	Swamp This	Wisely, the moms avoided the brute force Detour
Dustin and Kandice	Swamp This	Close behind the models, good on skis
Erwin and Godwin	Swamp That	Lagged a bit
Rob and Kimberly	Swamp That	Rob carried Kimberly

After completing the Detour, the models changed to clean clothes, then thought better of it. In spite of the comments from Dustin and Kandice, the models made it to the train station on time as they and the beauties shared the first train out of Tempere. The other three teams were not as lucky, as they were forced to take the next train, an hour later. Kimberly let Rob have his moment of frustration, having missed the train by seconds.

Roadblock

In an underground mine, one team member had to ride a bike about a mile down a steep incline, pick up a piece of limestone, and bike back up the incline to the starting point. There, that team member had to break open the limestone to uncover a metal capsule containing the next clue.

All teams had trouble spotting the door to enter the mine for the Roadblock, as a very small and rumpled flag was used. Rob missed the mine before reaching the complex; the wrong turn resulted in being really lost and losing several minutes to teams that were trailing by just a few minutes.

Episode Nine Roadblock
Team	Team Member	Result
Tyler and James	James	Good ride, except for walking the bike up at the end
Karlyn and Lyn	Karlyn	Caught by the fast closing Rob
Rob and Kimberly	Rob	His supreme bike ride erased time deficit
Dustin and Kandice	Kandice	Only slightly behind James after opening clue
Erwin and Godwin	Godwin	Caught by the fast closing Rob

To be continued...

Teams had to drive 39 miles back to Helsinki to the Olympic Stadium. For one final challenge, they were to rappel down the tower, face first, one at a time. Then after James and Tyler completed the challenge, they opened the clue, only to find the dreaded words, "KEEP RACING", with no reward for their splendid effort.

Outlook for Episode Ten

Placements were only a bit changed nearing the end of the Episode, with James and Tyler ahead of Dustin and Kandice, and the Cho brothers may have been just a bit confused and trailing Lyn and Karlyn.

The Amazing Race 10 had been less predictable than the previous couple of editions, with teams that are very competitive, until Episode Eight. The five remaining teams are skillful and resourceful. Each of the five teams has a unique combination of strengths and weaknesses that have emerged.

Comparison of Teams in AMAZING RACE 10
Place	Members	Strengths	Weaknesses
1	Dustin and Kandice	Competitive, college educated, athletic, good navigation, good swimmers	Not paying attention to details of clues--or even preservation of clues, try to push ahead of others, abrasive, not fastest in foot races, emotional. Dustin is bossy and domineering.
2	Tyler and James	Most athletic team, good swimmers	Not paying attention to details of clues, some bad luck, poor navigation, immature, poor decision making, communication with locals. James is passive.
3	Rob and Kimberly	Athletic, fast enough in footraces, good swimmers, good at tasks	Arguing, fighting, hot tempered, even hitting each other. Rob loses patience easily, Kimberly fights for control all the time.
4	Erwin and Godwin	Very intelligent, strong, helpful, and thoughtful	Small in stature, bad luck, too concerned with friends, not paying attention to details.
5	Karlyn and Lyn	Communication, determination, good navigation and driving	Limited traveling experience, short in stature, slow at tasks, poor in swimming, rely on other teams for decisions, Lyn may be slower in footraces.

James and Tyler had a strong day, only to find that they must keep going. Dustin and Kandice were within hailing distance, and were the main team to benefit from continuing on. Rob and Kimberly dealt with emotional issues better, while still in third. Because of the fiasco with the train, they are barely above the last place team going into this week's episode.

The Cho brothers worked steadily in all tasks, but they chose to be polite, costing them a lot of time. Lyn and Karlyn were not as tired, and they were able to keep up with the Cho brothers on tasks, thanks to their wise choice of Detour. At the end, the moms were ahead on their driving skills being better than the tentative Cho brothers.

The theme of Amazing Race 10 is the promise of twists, turns, and surprises never seen before in the Race, clearly seen in Episodes 1, 3, 5, and 8. What will Episode 10 reveal about the teams and who will be eliminated next? Watch Sunday, November 19 at 8PM Eastern/Pacific after 60 Minutes. Also, be sure to catch the FINISH LINE at 1 PM Monday November 20 on the THE AMAZING RACE 10th Edition Web site.