Amazing Race 14 Tidbits -- Thoughts and Outlook

Amazing Race Tidbits

CBS' The Amazing Race 14th Edition

Thoughts on Episode 10 and Outlook for Episode 11

Thoughts on Episode Ten

Start -- No Airport Shuffle

Teams had to fly from Guilin in southern China to Beijing in northern China. After all the fuss about who was in line first and what Tammy said in Chinese, everyone was on same China Southern flight to Beijing. The real start was where teams were trying to snag a taxi in Beijing to the Liangzi Jian Guo Men Dian foot massage spa.

Roadblock

Teaser: Who is feeling manipulative?

From the website: One team member member had to first drink a Chinese medicinal tea. Then, they would sit back and �enjoy� a foot massage, known for its therapeutic powers, which walked the fine line between pleasure and pain and lasted ten minutes. If the racer could endure the therapeutic massage for the entire ten minutes, they had to drink another cup of tea to receive their next clue. However, if the pain was too intense, the racer could say, �Uncle�, to stop the massage, but if they did, they had to restart the massage from the beginning.

Later arriving teams were warned by the earlier arriving teams how bad it got. Wisely, nonparticipating team members were supportive and did all they could to keep their partners from stopping. None did!

Episode Ten Roadblock
Members	Teammate	Notes
Cara and Jaime	Cara	Found it painful, but got through it.
Kisha and Jen	Kisha	�This should be illegal�
Margie and Luke	Luke	Grimaced in pain, but OK
Tammy and Victor	Tammy	Did not like even the thought of foot massage.

Route Info

Teams had to find the Guangcai Natatorium. This was a very obscure site in Beijing, perhaps a school, not well known by the cab drivers. Victor was able to get his cab driver oriented by asking a series of questions. When in China, follow Victor and Tammy!

Detour

This Detour had an Olympic theme, as Beijing had just hosted the 2008 Summer Games.

Sync From the website: Teams would try to master the skill of synchronized diving by jumping off the three-meter springboard and hitting the water in perfect unison. When they performed a jump where they hit the water simultaneously and received a passing score of five from the judges, they would receive their next clue.

This was one of the trickiest Olympic events of all. Sure, it could be done quickly, if this were the team�s event, but a real challenge for novices. The only upside was the dive was relatively easy, more like stylized jumping in. A large hint was that both teammates had to score a 5 out of 5 on the same dive to receive the next clue�and these judges were picky. Only Victor and Tammy came close. Still, why would anyone have picked this side?

Swim From the website: Teams had to change into the revolutionary Speedo Lasersuit, the same type of suit worn by Michael Phelps when he won 8 gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Then, they had to swim eight lengths of the pool in a 400-meter [medley] relay with team members alternating every two lengths and competing against Michael Phelps� time of 04:03.84 in the individual medley. While teams did not have to beat Phelps� time, each team member had to complete 200 meters of the relay to receive their next clue.

The only challenge was the medley aspect. But, only Cara and Jaime realized right away they had more control. For the last two teams, the pool was a chance to advance their swimming skills. Even Jen gave up her crawl for the last part of the relay. All teams completed swim. The times were all under 20 minutes. That meant the whole Detour might have taken about a half hour. Why would any team not pick this relatively uncomplicated task and just stay with it? 400 meters closer to $1million!

Episode Ten Detour
Members	Option	Notes
Cara and Jaime	Swim	They realized that they had more control over this side of the Detour. Finished first as they are really good swimmers. The time was under 10 minutes.
Kisha and Jen	Sync, then Swim, then Sync, then Swim	Jen hates the water and did not know how to swim. The first time at Sync, Jen did a dive, but she freaked out on the next try. Kisha was none too good herself on the first try at swim, crawling along the lane rope much of the way. They were handed life jackets both times they swim. Jen eventually overcomes her fear and finishes strong. Their time for the swim was over 18 minutes.
Margie and Luke	Swim	Luke started strong, but slowed just a bit as the time went along. Margie was really good in the pool and swam strongly for a great combined time under 9 minutes,
Tammy and Victor	Sync, then Swim	Neither of them was a good swimmer, having just taken beginning swimming lessons before going on the Race. Tammy had not done well in those lessons. They wasted way too much time on Sync. They had been encouraged early on with both scoring 4 early on, but never repeated that as they tired. They did have a couple of dives scored as 3 for one and 4 for the other diver. Eventually, even their form broke down on the relatively easy dive. They actually gave up about the time Kisha and Jen gave up the second time. Little wonder Victor had leg cramps after he finished. Tammy was slow at times in the swim. They posted a slow time of over 10 minutes because their energy was so spent after trying Sync. Victor realized that they should have done Swim the first time.

Pit Stop

North Gate of the famous Drum Tower in Beijing China.

Episode Ten Order of Finish
Members	Place
Cara and Jaime	1
Kisha and Jen	(4)
Margie and Luke	(2)
Tammy and Victor	(3)

Cara and Jaime were told they were the first team to arrive, but Phil handed them their next clue. The positions here are the order of teams as last seen. Margie and Luke were well on their way to the Pit Stop. Tammy and Victor had just gotten into their cab and had started down the road. Kisha and Jen were still looking for a cab. The actual order depends on whether the cabs maintain that order, or any get lost or stuck in traffic or break down. The money given at the start of the leg has to last for both episodes.

Outlook for Episode Eleven

The four remaining teams have unique strengths, weaknesses, and character. This edition is fun to watch. Some strong teams fell by the wayside, while other strong teams have struggled at times.!

It looks as if there is an equalizer coming, which should be a boost for the strugglers Kisha and Jen, and the humbled Tammy and Victor. One challenge is eating unusual food, which might be advantage Tammy and Victor. The preview shows Jaime and Cara wandering about in costume. They might be smarting from arriving first, but being given their next clue. Margie and Luke were coming off a strong performance, but might be miffed that Kisha and Jen avoided elimination. The resilience of Kisha and Jen and the strength of the surprising Jaime and Cara should cause the dominant teams to keep aware that it is a short path now from first to last. Yet another reason is that a U-Turn has been announced for the next episode. Could that spell trouble for Margie and Luke?

Which teams will compete for the million dollars? Watch the four remaining teams fight to make it into the finale in Episode 11 on Sunday, May 3, 2009 at 8:00 PM.