by Gina Scarpa

This week, on The Amazing Race, teams headed to Dubai, where they took an elevator ride to the top of the world’s tallest building.  From there, they trekked through a desert for a Road Block then headed to an indoor ski resort for a Detour.  While Lance and Keri didn’t exactly have the toughest time completing the tasks given to them, they continuously got lost in an unfamiliar country.  After falling too far behind, they became the last time to arrive at the pit stop and were eliminated from the race.  Today, they spoke to RealityWanted in an exclusive interview about their experiences on the show.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Whose idea was it to trying out for The Amazing Race this season?
A. Lance: I guess it was mine but we’re both big reality tv fans.  We didn’t get recruited.  We came up the hard road.  Keri is 1-1 for applying for reality shows and I’m like, 1-100. 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Did you do any preparation before leaving for the race, physically or mentally?
A. Lance: We’re physical.  We worked out and we were fit before.  We were gimped because we were trying to get this wedding planned.  We had so much planning right up until the day we left.  You just don’t know what to expect.  Every season seems a little different.
A. Keri: We’re pretty active.  There’s a lot of mental stuff on the race that you can’t prepare for.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: In that first episode, you seemed very close to going home in the license plate challenge.  Were you freaking out?
A. Keri: Most definitely!  It was really stressful seeing teams go back and forth.  No one saw the picture at the top.
A. Lance: Brian and I were literally ripping the wall down trying to find the right plate.  We didn’t even know where we stood.  It never dawned on me that we would even be a team that could be going home.  We just started seeing the group dwindle.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Did you work with any other teams or align yourself with anyone?
A. Lance: Here’s the thing.  There was like, this big love fest that was going on with all the teams.  We were friendly with everyone but the difference is that we didn’t carry that love fest into the game itself.  You saw that last episode with Brian helping everyone, Sam and Dan waiting for the car, and Megan and Cheyne being gifted a Fast Forward that nobody challenged.  It was a little gushy gushy. 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: We saw you guys getting lost on this week’s episode quite a bit.  How difficult is it to try to navigate your way through a completely unfamiliar country?
A. Lance: It was brutal.
A. Keri: It was pretty difficult.  The roads were confusing.  We ran for the car while other teams ran for directions.  Had we done that, we would’ve been better off.  The people we did ask gave questionable directions.  There was a language barrier. 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Do you think that if you hadn’t gotten lost that you would still be on the race?
A. Keri: Had we gotten there in time, there’s no way we wouldn’t have made it.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You two argued throughout the race and I’m sure that being on the show takes its toll on you, emotionally.  Can you talk a little bit about how you were feeling?
A. Lance: I think everyone is worn down.  There’s a lot that goes on that the public doesn’t see.  They don’t see what happens 10 hours in between going from one place to the next.  You’re running in wet sneakers, smelly clothes… you haven’t eaten or showered.
A. Keri: It can break you down but it can bring you closer together.  It was like therapy.  We got to know each other more.  In the end, we figured out how the other operated. 
A. Lance: Communication wise, that was actually one of our better legs.  In Cambodia, we started working better together.  In the beginning, I was a one man band. 
A.  Keri: It was hard for me because I had never seen that side of Lance.  There’s a lot of emotion.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What are you taking away from the experience of being on the show?  Do you want to travel more?  What are you up to now?
A. Lance: We always like to travel but in the United States, you’re influenced by what is advertised.  I would never think of visiting Cambodia but seeing those things really opened my eyes and you can have a great vacation.  If they need a villain again, he’s good to go.
A. Keri: Right now, we’re married.  We’ve moved in together.  We’re starting our lives and we’ve gone back to our real jobs.  The next thing is: finding our groove, going on a real honeymoon, and just enjoying life.
A. Lance: If they need a villain again, he’s good to go.
A. Keri: I think if we do anything again, it should show a different side of us.


The Amazing Race airs Sundays at 8pm ET on CBS.

(Image courtesy of CBS)


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