The Amazing Race 7

Categories: The Amazing Race

Image:Amazingracelogo.jpg

The Amazing Race 7 was the seventh installment of the popular reality television show, The Amazing Race. This installment ran from March 1, 2005 to May 10, 2005.

Filming began on November 20, 2004 and finished on December 19, 2004.

In this edition of the race, a change was made to the non-elimination leg penalty. In addition to being stripped of all their money and receiving no allowance for the next leg of the race, teams were forced to surrender all of their possessions, except for their passports and the clothes they were wearing, for the remainder of the race. They were also no longer allowed to beg for money prior to the start of the next leg (after the next leg started, they can beg for money). The racers could also receive or buy clothing or toiletries from other teams.

In September 2005, Season 7 won a Primetime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Reality-Competition Program", the third consecutive award for the television series. Although Seasons 5 and 6 were also eligible, producers chose Season 7 since it was the most recent installment of the show.


Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Contents

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Results

The following teams participated in the Race, listed in most recent finishing order:

Position (by leg)
Team Relationship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8* 9 10 11 12 Roadblocks performed
Uchenna & Joyce Married 8th 4th 2nd 3rd 6th 3rd 3rd 1st 1st 3rd 3rd 1st Uchenna 6, Joyce 5
Rob & Amber Engaged 3rd 1st 5th 1st 5th 2nd 1st 3rd 3rd 1st> 2nd 2nd Rob 6, Amber 6
Ron & Kelly Former POW / Pageant Queen 10th 2nd 4th 4th 2nd 1st 2nd 2nd 4th 2nd< 1st 3rd Ron 6, Kelly 6
Meredith & Gretchen Married / Retired 6th 7th 7th 7th 7th 5th 5th 4th 2nd 4th Meredith 6, Gretchen 4
Lynn & Alex Boyfriends 5th 5th 1st 5th 4th 4th 4th 5th Lynn 4, Alex 4
Brian & Greg Brothers 4th 9th 3rd 2nd 3rd 6th 6th Brian 3, Greg 3
Ray & Deana Dating On and Off 7th 3rd 6th 6th 1st 7th Ray 2, Deana 2
Susan & Patrick Mother / Son 2nd 8th 8th 8th Susan 1, Patrick 2
Debbie & Bianca Lifelong Friends 1st 6th 9th Debbie 2, Bianca 0
Megan & Heidi Roommates 9th 10th Megan 1, Heidi 0
Ryan & Chuck Best Friends 11th Ryan 0, Chuck 0
  • Red means the team was eliminated.
  • Blue means the team was the last to arrive at the Pit Stop in a non-elimination leg of the race. The team was not eliminated and was forced to surrender all their money and possessions (except for their passports and clothes they were wearing) for the remainder of the race. The team did not receive any money at the beginning of the next leg and were not permitted to acquire money before the start of the next leg.
  • Green means the team won the Fast Forward clue.
  • A yellow > means that team chose to use the Yield; < indicates the team who received it.
  • *Leg 8 was double-length with two Detours and two Roadblocks. The users of the Fast Forward received it after the midpoint, and thus were only permitted to skip the second set of challenges.
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Trivia

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General

  • In total, the final three teams traveled across 5 continents, visited 25 cities, and logged over 40,000 miles. Unlike previous editions, teams travelled no farther east than India before returning by a westward route.
  • This edition featured the first mother/son team.
  • Brian appeared in a Heineken commercial with Jennifer Aniston. [1]
  • Meredith and Gretchen were officially the oldest couple in the history of The Amazing Race to make it to the top four teams.
  • This season featured several prizes, given to the winners of certain legs, that had never before been featured on the show. On the first leg, $10,000 went to each teammate (for a total of $20,000) for the winning team. On the fifth leg, a Toyota RAV4 went to each teammate. On the tenth leg, JVC home entertainment systems were rewarded. Previously, only vacations and cameras had been offered in this manner.
  • Travelocity replaced previous show regular sponsors American Airlines Vacations and Royal Caribbean Cruises. Besides trips, the company also provided a special prize of $20,000 in vacation money, won by Ron and Kelly (in a new random-prizing system) on Leg 9.
  • The winners were revealed in an online betting scandal, before the finale even aired. [2][3]
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Pre-Race

  • Three reality show alumni were part of this race. Engaged couple Amber Brkich and Rob Mariano both appeared on Survivor. Brian appeared on a Christmas episode of Fear Factor.
  • 45 potential teams for the race were sequestered at a hotel before the race began. Since teams were not allowed to speak to one another, brothers Brian and Greg originally contacted Heidi and Megan by sending them milk and cookies through a waiter.
  • Uchenna and Joyce were originally scheduled to appear on Season 6. They were sequestered in Santa Monica, California at the beginning of that race, but were cut at the last minute before the race began in Chicago.
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In-Race

Image:AR7RobAmber.jpg
Rob and Amber completing a Detour in London, United Kingdom
  • Leg 3 featured a difficult Roadblock in which players had to eat four pounds of meat and organs. An unprecedented four players actually quit the food eating task: Rob, Meredith, Deana, and Patrick. Although it was not shown on television, Patrick quit the Roadblock but later decided to complete it.
  • A cameraman suffered minor injuries when Brian and Greg's Land Rover flipped as they were driving from the Roadblock to the Detour on the Leg 6 of the race.
  • Host Phil Keoghan greeted teams at a race mat halfway through Leg 8 to hand them their next clue, marking the first time in the history of The Amazing Race that teams have stepped on a mat marker to be handed their next clue. Previously, teams only received route information stored in boxes or from locals after completing a task.
  • In Leg 8, Meredith broke three bones in his foot after it had been run over during the elephant Detour, and later by a tuktuk. However, he did not reveal his injury to production, because he feared that it would force him to leave the race.
  • The Leg 8 Fast Forward returned to the concept of a Fast Forward from Season 5 - an Indian good-luck ritual, where both team members must shave their heads - but this time it was completed; the sole team to try in Season 5 balked at the task once they discovered it.
  • In Leg 12 of the race, teams had to fly between Montego Bay and San Juan, Puerto Rico. What producers did not show, however, was a connection in Miami. Because American Airlines does not operate non-stop flights between Montego Bay and San Juan, all three teams and their camera crew caught one of American Airlines' three daily Montego Bay-Miami flights and connected in Miami onto Miami-San Juan flights.
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Post-Race

  • In a radio interview [4], Uchenna and Joyce said that they won the race by 45 minutes, even though Rob and Amber were 7 minutes ahead of them at the first Miami cluebox at Rickenbacker Causeway.
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Race locations

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Leg 1 (USA-Peru)

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Leg 2 (Peru-Chile)

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Leg 3 (Chile-Argentina)

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Leg 4 (Argentina)

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Leg 5 (Argentina-South Africa)

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Leg 6 (South Africa-Botswana)

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Leg 7 (Botswana)

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Leg 8 (Botswana-India)

Image:AR7Gretchen.jpg
Gretchen during the Trunk Detour in Jodhpur, India
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Leg 9 (India-Turkey)

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Leg 10 (Turkey-United Kingdom)

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Leg 11 (United Kingdom-Jamaica)

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Leg 12 (Jamaica-USA)

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External links


Seasons of The Amazing Race
Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | Season 4 | Season 5 | Season 6 | Season 7 | Season 8 | Season 9
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