'''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. (This penalty came to be referred to as "mugging" by fans.) 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.
The DVD for Season 7 was released on
December 20,
2005.
Results
The following teams participated in the Race, with their relationships at the time of filming. Placements are listed in finishing order:
| Team | Relationship | Position (by leg) | Roadblocks performed |
|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3<> | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8<>3 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|
| Uchenna & Joyce | Married | 8th | 4th | 2nd | 3rd | 6th | 3rd | 3rd1 | 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 | 5th2 | 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 |
Uchenna & Joyce arrived 3rd, but they didn't complete the Roadblock correctly and were forced to finish it. That mistake, however did not affect their placement.
Meredith & Gretchen arrived 4th, but they missed their final clue which caused them to fall to 5th.
Leg 8 was double-length with two detours and two roadblocks shown over two episodes. The users of the Fast Forward received it after the midpoint, and thus were only permitted to skip the second set of challenges. The yield appeared before the first roadblock.
★
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;
<> indicates a leg where the Yield was available but not used.
Episode title quotes
Episode titles are often taken from quotes made by the racers.
# Courteous? This is a Race! – ''Megan''
# The Whole Country Hates Me – ''Lynn''
# Do You Need Some Mouth-to-Mouth Resuscitation? – ''Gretchen''
# What A Gaucho You Are! – ''Gretchen''
# I've Been Wanting A Face-Lift for A Long Time – ''Gretchen''
# Houston, We Have An Elephant – ''Uchenna''
# They Saved The Eyeball ''(recap)'' – ''Gretchen''
# Mow 'Em Down Like Grass – ''Ron''
# We Have A Bad Elephant – ''Gretchen''
# We Got a Gnome! We Got a Gnome! – ''Joyce''
# The Devil Made Me Do It – ''Kelly''
# Five Continents, 25 Cities, And More Than 40,000 Miles – ''Phil Keoghan''
Notable race events
General
★ This was the first edition to not strictly circumnavigate the world (by crossing the
International Date Line exactly once); once teams traveled as far east as India, they returned to the United States traveling westward through Europe and the Caribbean. However, the route does approach that of a
great circle on the globe.
★ Brian Smith appeared in a
Heineken commercial with
Jennifer Aniston.
See video
★ Joyce Robinson (as Joyce Agu) previously appeared in as Ensign Gates, a background character who piloted the Enterprise.
★
Travelocity replaced previous show regular sponsors
American Airlines Vacations and
Royal Caribbean International. Besides trips, the company also provided a special prize of $20,000 in vacation money, won by Ron & Kelly (in a new random-prizing system) on Leg 9 after matching the marking on the bottom of a
gnome.
★ The winners were revealed in an online betting scandal, before the finale even aired.
[1] [2] - link [2] found dead April 22, 2007
Pre-Race
★ Three
reality show alumni were part of this race. Engaged couple
Amber 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.
In-Race
★ In 'Leg 1', The last Route Marker before the first Pit Stop was in solid red.
★ '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. EDIT: On TV, Patrick was shown eating and finishing the meat. He never took the 4 hour penality, and finished a few bites ahead of Debbie, therefore arriving at the pitstop before they did.
★ 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
tuk-tuk. However, he did not reveal his injury to production, because he feared that it would force him to leave the race.
★ Near the end of 'Leg 8', Lynn & Alex mistakenly went to
Umaid Bhawan Palace which proved too costly and they were eliminated.
★ 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.
★ Controversy has surrounded the final leg of the race: when Uchenna and Joyce arrived at the airport in San Juan, both Rob & Amber and Uchenna & Joyce were sold tickets for a flight leaving later than one whose gate was about to close. While Rob & Amber managed to get on this earlier departing flight, Uchenna and Joyce were shown by the gate as the boarding corridor between the gate exitway and airplane began to shut. After a commercial break, the boarding corridor reopened to the gate to pick up Uchenna and Joyce. No explanation was given as to why the gate reopened, which has led to widespread speculation about intervention by the production staff.
[3] [4] [5]. In the "Revisiting the Race" special feature on the Season 7 DVD, Uchenna, Rob, and Phil Keoghan deny the accusations of intervention by the production crew. Uchenna describes his experience with finding the same airline agent at the gate who had previously informed him that there was no earlier available flight. Rob describes Uchenna running around frantically trying to get onto the flight, which the final edited version of the show does not portray. Phil cites the fact that the decision to re-open the door rested solely with the pilot, and that intervention by the production crew would have resulted in someone leaking such information out.
Post-race
★ In a radio interview
[6], 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.
★ Lynn & Alex got married in
Ottawa,
Ontario, sponsored by radio Hot 89.9. Amazing Race guests included Uchenna & Joyce, Gretchen, Susan & Patrick and Bianca & Debbie.
★ Lynn & Alex appeared on ''
Real Gay'', a "reunion" show of LBGT reality television participants (as did
Chip from Season 4) which aired on
Logo.
★ Rob and Amber's marriage in the
Bahamas was aired on a CBS television special two weeks after the finale.
★ Brian Smith, who participated in the race with his brother Greg, dated
Jennifer Lyon, a contestant from .
★ Uchenna and Joyce appeared on a special episode of the
Style Network's series
How Do I Look?, where Joyce was given a makeover at the suggestion of Uchenna.
★ Ray and Deana married after the race. They eventually had their first child, a daughter they named Reagan.
★ Rob & Amber and Uchenna & Joyce were selected to race in ''
The Amazing Race All-Stars''.
★ Ron & Kelly broke up. Kelly is now married.
★ Rob & Amber and Uchenna & Joyce each received a letter from Susan & Patrick as part of a Roadblock task in ''All-Stars'' (the letter to Uchenna & Joyce was friendly and positive, while the letter to Rob & Amber was very negative). A still photo of Susan & Patrick from Season 7 was shown in the episode.
Prizes
Individual prizes were awarded to the first team to complete a leg unless otherwise noted.
★ 'Leg 1' - $10,000 cash for each racer.
★ 'Leg 2' - A trip to
Atlantis Paradise Island,
Bahamas courtesy of
Travelocity.
★ 'Leg 4' - A trip to
London courtesy of Travelocity.
★ 'Leg 5' - Two
Toyota RAV4 vehicles.
★ 'Leg 7' - A trip to
Monaco courtesy of Travelocity.
★ 'Leg 9' - $20,000 shopping spree on Travelocity.com and a four-star hotel room stay for the Pit Stop. Awarded to Ron and Kelly, who won a special gnome searching challenge. The prize was awarded to the team that had an airplane on the bottom of their gnome, regardless of them placing first or not.
★ 'Leg 10' - A
JVC home entertainment system for each racer.
★ 'Leg 12' - $1,000,000
Race locations
@ = Additional task
Route map
Leg 1 (United States → Peru)
★
Long Beach,
California, '
USA'
(Near the
Queen Mary ship at Long Beach Harbor) (Starting Point)
★
Flight:
(
Los Angeles International Airport) to
Callao, '
Peru'
(
Jorge Chavez International Airport)
★
Lima (
Plaza de Armas)
★
Ancón (La Playa Hermosa) @
★
Flight:
Callao (Jorge Chavez International Airport) to
Cuzco (
Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport)
★
Huambutio (Virgen del Carmen Kiosk)
★ Huambutio (Gorge)
@
★
Písac (Marketplace)
★ Cuzco (
Convento de La Merced)
@ = Teams must search sand piles for different departure times to next destination.
@ = Teams had to take a zip line across the gorge, then take another zip line to the bottom.
The Detour had the choice between Rope a
Llama or Rope a Basket. In Rope a Llama, teams had to lead llamas to a pen not far off. In Rope a Basket, teams had to carry a basket of
alfalfa weighing 35 pounds two thirds of a mile to a store.
Leg 2 (Peru → Chile)
★
Arequipa (Shoe Shine Union)
★
Flight:
Arequipa (
Rodriguez Ballon International Airport) to
Santiago, '
Chile'
(
Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport)
★ Santiago (
Cerro San Cristóbal -Virgin Mary statue)
★ Santiago (Neptune fountain on
The Roadblock had one member of each team shine 5 shoes. The Detour sported the choice between Shop or Schlep. In shop, teams had to buy 5 ingredients for a local chef. In Schlep, teams needed to cart 180 books to Chile's Library of Congress
Leg 3 (Chile → Argentina)
★ Santiago (Paseo Bulnes)
★
Mendoza, '
Argentina'
(Puente Viejo, "old bridge")
★ Mendoza (
Camping Suizo)
★ Mendoza (Estancia San Isidro)
The detour featured the choice between Pedal or Paddle. In Paddle, teams had to raft 7 miles down a rough river. In Pedal, teams were told to pedal a bike 7 miles down a railroad track. The roadblock had one team member eating 4 pounds of a traditional Argentinian feast containing cow rib, pork sausage, blood sausage, cow intestine, cow udder, cow kidney and cow's saliva gland.
Leg 4 (Argentina)
★
Lunlunta (cabaña La Guatana gaucho ranch)
★
Flight:
(
Gabrielli Airport) to
Buenos Aires (
Jorge Newberry Airport)
★ Buenos Aires ( Plaza de la Fuerza Aerea -)
★ Buenos Aires (
Estación Retiro)
★
Tigre (Estación Tigre)
★ Tigre (docks)
★
Vicente Casares (
La Martina Polo Ranch)
The Roadblock featured a traditional gaucho challenge consisting of barrel racing and then spearing a ring in under 40 seconds. The Detour had the choice of Shipwreck or Island. In shipwreck, teams had to find an old ship with only a 30 year old picture for a clue. Island required teams to find an island marked on the map up the San Antonio River.
Leg 5 (Argentina → South Africa)
★
Flight:
Buenos Aires (
Ministro Pistarini International Airport) to
Johannesburg, '
South Africa'
(
Johannesburg International Airport)
★
Soweto (Orlando Power Station)
★ Soweto (Gwangaranath Market)
★ Soweto (Orlando Children's Home)
★ Soweto (
Ngakane Street)
The Fast Forward took teams to the Orlando Cooling Station and then walk across a suspension bridge 30 feet in the air. The Detour was a choice between
Tunnels or
Tribes. Tribes had teams returning 5 items to their respective tribes. Tunnels took teams underground to rappel down into a cave and make their way to the next clue. In the Roadblock, one team member had to shop for 5 items that were later to be delivered to a local children's shelter.
Leg 6 (South Africa → Botswana)
★
Krugersdorp (
Rhino & Lion Game Reserve) @
★
Flight:
Johannesburg (Johannesburg International Airport) to
Gaborone, '
Botswana'
(
Sir Seretse Khama International Airport)
★
Francistown (Giant Aardvark)
★ Xau Xarra (Cattle Post)
★
Makgadikgadi Pans [7]
@ = Teams must feed their lions with their meaty breakfast and teams get their next clue.
The Roadblock sent teams to do a traditional bushmen hunting activity (throwing a spear into a swinging bag). The Detour had the choice of Food or Water. Food featured teams pounding corn until it reached a specific line in the basket. In Water, teams had to fill 12 ostrich eggs with water from an underground spring.
Leg 7 (Botswana)
★
Sankuyo village
★
Khwai River
★ Khwai River Lodge
[8]
The Detour had teams choose between Carry it or Milk it. In carry it, teams had to transport 3 items 75 yards away on their heads. Milk it had teams milking enough goats to fill a 10 oz cup. The Roadblock featured one member driving across a crocodile infested river crossing and then removing 2 logs knocked down by elephants
Leg 8 (Botswana → India)
★
Flight:
(Airport) to
Lucknow,
Uttar Pradesh, '
India'
(Amausi Airport)
★ Lucknow, (
Bara Imambara)
★ Lucknow (Steel Emporium)
★ Lucknow (Aishbagh Gas Station)
★ Lucknow (Rooftop of Charbaugh Multistory Flats) ''(Leg midpoint; teams are told this is not the Pit Stop and must continue.)''
★ Lucknow (Lucknow Train Station)
★
Jodhpur,
Rajasthan (Train Station)
★ Jodhpur (
Sardar Market)
★ Jodhpur (Temple behind the lake)
★ Jodhpur (Deora Krishi Farm)
★ Jodhpur (
Jaswant Thada)
In the first Roadblock, one team member had to search among 600 metal boxes in order to find the next clue. Then the Detour had teams choosing between Solid or Liquid. Solid had teams chopping up 75 pounds of coal and then delivering it to a coal station. Liquid had teams searching a crowded office building for five pre-designated people which were on business cards the Teams had, and then giving them a cup of tea, along with their business card.
In the second part of the leg, there was a Fast Forward which had teams shaving their heads bald. The Detour had the choice between Trunk or Dunk. In Trunk, teams had to cart a 600 lbs. elephant through the streets of Jodhpur. Dunk had teams going to a dying house to dye 20 sheets of fabric until they found the one with their clue on it. The Roadblock had one team member completing 2 laps in a cart driven by a camel.
Leg 9 (India → Turkey)
★
Flight:
Jodhpur (Jodhpur Airport) to
Istanbul, '
Turkey'
(
Ataturk International Airport)
★ Istanbul (
Kız Kulesi) (find gnome)
★
Üsküdar District, Istanbul (
Galata Kulesi)
★ Istanbul (
Rumeli Hisari)
★ Istanbul (Rumeli Hisari, Lookout)
The Detour was either Columns or Kilos. In Columns, teams had to find 4 columns on a grid and then using the numbers found on the columns, unlock a padlocked box with their next clue inside. Kilos had teams weighing enough people on the street until they reached a total of 2500 kilos. The Roadblock had one team member climbing up an old fortress to retrieve a key for their next clue.
Leg 10 (Turkey → United Kingdom)
★ Istanbul (
Sirkeci Train Station)
★
Flight:
Istanbul (Ataturk International Airport) to
London,
England, '
United Kingdom'
(
Heathrow International Airport)
★ London (
Abbey Road)
★ London (
London Eye)
★ London (
Millennium Dome)
★ London (Potter's Field Park)
The Detour on this leg was Brains
[1-
2-
3-
4] or
Brawn. In Brains teams went to the subway where they would solve 3 riddles which would take them to the Sherlock Holmes museum. In Brawn teams transported five 160 pound boats from the lake to the storage area. The Roadblock was to drive a
double decker bus through a marked course without hitting any cones.
Leg 11 (United Kingdom → Jamaica)
★
Flight:
London (Heathrow International Airport) to
Kingston, '
Jamaica'
(
Norman Manley International Airport)
★
Port Antonio (
Frenchman's Cove)
★ Port Antonio (Grant's Level High)
★
Montego Bay (
Round Hill)
The Roadblock was to do the
limbo for their departure time by each rung. The Detour on this leg was Raft It or Build It. In Raft It teams traveled 8 miles down the Rio Grande on Bamboo rafts with only a pole to steer. In Build It teams built bamboo rafts using all bits to sail across the river for their clue at the top of the river.
Leg 12 (Jamaica → United States)
★
Lucea (Cool Breeze Onion Shack) @
★ Montego Bay (
Rose Hall)
★
Flight:
Montego Bay (
Sangster International Airport) to
San Juan,
Puerto Rico , 'USA'
(
Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport)
★ San Juan (
Castillo de San Felipe del Morro Fort)
★
Aguadilla (Abandoned Sugar Factory)
★
Flight:
San Juan (Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport) to
Miami,
Florida (
Miami International Airport)
★ Miami (Rickenbacker Causeway)
★ Miami (
Little Havana – El Rey de los Habanos)
★
Fort Lauderdale (
Bonnet House) (Finish Line)
@ = Teams must chop 50 onions to receive their next clue.
The Detour on this leg was Pony Up or Tee It Up. In Pony Up teams ride a horse into the ocean then hang onto its tail as it goes around buoys. In Tee It Up teams needed to hit a golfball into a 16 foot area 140 yards away. The Roadblock was to jump off a 30 ft bridge and swim 90 yards.
External links
★
Official site
★
TARFlies Times (Season 7)
★
★
Uchenna and Joyce video interview (The Early Show)
★
Final Three video interview (The Early Show)
★
Uchenna and Joyce - Amazing Race Wiki
★
Ray & Deana's site
★
Ray's site
★
Debbie & Bianca's site
★
Rob and Amber - Amazing Race Wiki
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