The Amazing Race 5


The Amazing Race 5 is the fifth season of the American reality competition show The Amazing Race. Hosted by Phil Keoghan, it featured 11 teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, competing in a race around the world for US$1,000,000. This season visited six continents and 12 countries, traveling approximately over 13 legs. Filming took place between January 30 and February 27, 2004. Starting in Santa Monica, California, racers traveled through Uruguay, Argentina, Russia, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, the United Arab Emirates, India, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Canada before returning to the United States and finishing in Dallas, Texas. New twists introduced this season included the Yield, where one team could force another team to stop racing for a predetermined amount of time, and a new non-elimination leg penalty where teams that finished last were stripped of all of the money they had accumulated during previous legs and did not receive any money at the start of the next leg. The season premiered on CBS on July 6, 2004, and concluded on September 21, 2004.
Married parents Chip and Kim McAllister were the winners of the season, while dating couple Colin Guinn and Christie Woods finished in second place, and models Brandon Davidson and Nicole O'Brian finished in third place.

Overview

The Amazing Race is a reality television show created by Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri, and hosted by Phil Keoghan. The series follows teams of two competing in a race around the world. Each leg of the race requires teams to deduce clues, navigate foreign environments, interact with locals, perform physical and mental challenges, and travel on a limited budget provided by the show. At each stop during the leg, teams receive clues inside sealed envelopes, which fall into one of these categories:
  • Route Info: These are simple instructions that teams must follow before they can receive their next clue.
  • Detour: A Detour is a choice between two tasks. Teams may choose either task and switch tasks if they find one option too difficult. There is usually one Detour present on each leg.
  • Roadblock: A Roadblock is a task that only one team member can complete. Teams must choose which member will complete the task based on a brief clue they receive before fully learning the details of the task. There is usually one Roadblock present on each leg.
  • Fast Forward: A Fast Forward is a task that only one team may complete, which allows that team to skip all remaining tasks on the leg and go directly to the next Pit Stop. Teams may only claim one Fast Forward during the entire race.
  • Yield: The Yield allows one team to force another team to stop racing for a predetermined amount of time before they can continue the race. Teams may use the Yield only one time during the entire race.
Most teams who arrive last at the Pit Stop of each leg are progressively eliminated, while the first team to arrive at the finish line in the final episode wins the grand prize of US$1,000,000.

Production

Development and filming

After the anemic ratings for The Amazing Race 4, CBS chairman and CEO Les Moonves doubted whether the series would be renewed for another season. After much deliberation, CBS officially ordered a fifth installment of The Amazing Race in September 2003. Some observers cited the series' recent Emmy win as the factor behind its renewal. While CBS flirted with the idea of a fall premiere, it ultimately gave season 5 a summer broadcast to create momentum for The Amazing Race 6 on the fall schedule.
This season introduced two major twists to The Amazing Race: the Yield and the non-elimination penalty. The Yield allowed one team to force another team to stop racing for a predetermined amount of time. The Yield was available on each leg, except the last two, although it was not shown on each episode. The non-elimination penalty required teams finishing last on non-elimination legs to be stripped of any money they had accumulated and, in addition, they received no money at the start of the next leg. This was also the first season to see the number of Fast Forwards reduced; only two were available in the entire season.
Filming for The Amazing Race 5 began on January 30, 2004, and finished on February 27. This season traveled, which was the show's longest route yet, covering six continents and 12 countries. Nine countries were new to the series: Uruguay, Argentina, Russia, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, the United Arab Emirates, the Philippines, and Canada.
The Zorb task in leg 10 was filmed at a New Zealand farm owned by a friend of host Phil Keoghan. Prior to the season, Keoghan had experienced rolling in the Zorb and insisted it be a task on the show.
Marshall & Lance were the first team in the history of The Amazing Race to quit. When they arrived at the Roadblock site in Luxor, Egypt, after all of the other teams had already left, they decided to give up rather than complete the task.

Contestants

After two seasons that featured 12 teams, the contestant pool this season was reduced to 11 teams. Among the contestants were, who was born with achondroplasia, and Alison Irwin, who had previously competed on Big Brother 4.
Following this season, Colin & Christie became engaged on CBS's Early Show.
ContestantsAgeRelationshipHometownStatus
27Once EngagedWest Nyack, New YorkEliminated 1st
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25Once EngagedPiermont, New YorkEliminated 1st
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23DatingMeadville, PennsylvaniaEliminated 2nd
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21DatingShenandoah, PennsylvaniaEliminated 2nd
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53Military Father & DaughterJacksonville, FloridaEliminated 3rd
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26Military Father & DaughterGainesville, FloridaEliminated 3rd
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61Internet Dating CoupleMount Laurel, New JerseyEliminated 4th
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54Internet Dating CoupleMount Laurel, New JerseyEliminated 4th
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31BrothersDallas, TexasQuit
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26BrothersDallas, TexasQuit
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27CousinsPhoenix, MarylandEliminated 6th
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27CousinsTowson, MarylandEliminated 6th
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26TwinsEugene, OregonEliminated 7th
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26TwinsEugene, OregonEliminated 7th
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45Bowling MomsPalmdale, CaliforniaEliminated 8th
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41Bowling MomsPalmdale, CaliforniaEliminated 8th
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25Dating & ModelsLos Angeles, CaliforniaThird place
21Dating & ModelsLos Angeles, CaliforniaThird place
24DatingCorpus Christi, TexasRunners-up
26DatingCorpus Christi, TexasRunners-up
46Married ParentsCoto de Caza, CaliforniaWinners
44Married ParentsCoto de Caza, CaliforniaWinners

;Future appearances
Charla and Mirna returned to compete in The Amazing Race: All-Stars. Colin and Christie were also invited to participate in The Amazing Race: All-Stars, but had to decline due to Christie's pregnancy. They later competed on The Amazing Race: Reality Showdown in 2019.
Alison Irwin later appeared on Big Brother: All Stars. In 2005, Chip, Kim, Charla, and Mirna all competed on the Bravo reality series Battle of the Network Reality Stars, along with 28 other individuals from various reality series.

Results

The following teams are listed with their placements in each leg. Placements are listed in finishing order.
  • A placement with a dagger indicates that the team was eliminated.
  • An placement with a double-dagger indicates that the team was the last to arrive at a Pit Stop in a non-elimination leg. As a penalty, they were stripped of all their money and were not given any at the start of the next leg.
  • A indicates that the team won the Fast Forward.
  • A indicates that the team used the Yield and a indicates the team on the receiving end of the Yield.
;Notes

Race summary

Leg 1 (United States → Uruguay)

  • Episode 1: "Clearly, I'm More Intelligent than You"
  • Prize: A vacation to Hawaii
  • Eliminated: Dennis and Erika
;Locations
;Episode summary
  • Teams set off from the Santa Monica Pier with instructions to fly to Montevideo, Uruguay. Once there, teams had to travel by bus to Punta del Este and find their next clue at The Hand. Teams had to travel by boat to Gorriti Island to find their next clue, which instructed them to search for tickets hidden on trees for one of three departure times the next morning.
  • After returning to the mainland the next day, teams had to search the dock for their next clue, which instructed them to travel to the José Francisco González warehouse in Maldonado, where they found their next clue. From the meat warehouse, teams had to carry a slab of meat to a butcher at La Rosada Carniceria in order to receive their next clue. Teams then had to travel to the Conrad Hotel to find their next clue.
  • This season's first Detour was a choice between Zips and Chips. In Zips, teams had to go to the roof of the Conrad Hotel, pull themselves across a zipline above the ground, and then take a second zipline 18 stories down to the hotel pool in order to retrieve their next clue. In Chips, teams had to play roulette in the hotel casino with 20 chips and received their next clue only if they won a game. If teams lost all of their chips, they had to do Zips.
  • After the Detour, teams had to check in at the Pit Stop: Casapueblo in Punta Ballena.