Characters / The Amazing Race 25

The Amazing Race character index
United States original: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8: Family Edition | 9 | 10 | 11: All-Stars | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18: Unfinished Business | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24: All-Stars | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31: Reality Showdown | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36
Asia: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
China Rush and China: China Rush 1 | 2 | 3 | China 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
Australia: 1 | 2 | 3: Australia v New Zealand | 4 | 5 | 6: Around the World | 7: Celebrity Edition
Canada: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6: Heroes Edition | 7 | 8 | 9

Shortly after the end of All-Stars, CBS hit Race fans with two big pieces of news. First off, the show would be moving to Friday night, airing on a night other than Sunday for the first time since 2007, with the original All-Stars. Second, fans were invited to watch the teams start the race from Times Square on May 31, 2014, making it the first time the Race teams were officially announced to the public prior to the season being completed. They also introduced the Save, which gave the team who won it a free pass to stay in the game if they ever finished last in an elimination leg.

The show itself rebounded huge from All-Stars, with a cast that was the most all-around likable since Season 12, racing on a course that showed more variety and spectacle than the much derided All-Stars course. Three teams dominated for most of the season, combining to win the first ten legs and looking like they had the Final 3 locked up. However, a wild card underdog managed to slip into the Final 3, giving the series one of its biggest surprise winners.

Amy DeJong & Maya Warren (The Scientists)

Maya: We're kind of like the underdogs here. We're the non-professional athletic team. We look like pee wees compared to everyone else it seems like, but even though we're not as much of a physical threat, academically we put up a good match.

Food Scientists and graduate students working on their PhDs. They were an inconsistent team, bouncing up and down in the standings, with the other teams never considering them to be a real threat. However, they themselves were very competitive, and their analytic minds helped them keep up with the pack, even though Amy's physical limitations and their poor navigation skills kept costing them positions near the front. While it appeared they were going to be eliminated at the end of the penultimate leg due Amy struggling with the highly physical coconut Roadblock, they were shocked to learn that four teams would be racing on the final leg. They got out to an early lead in the finale due to their suddenly on point navigation skills, but lost it due to Maya failing to read the clue following the first Roadblock. However, Amy was able to blow by Misti and Bethany at the second, and more difficult, Final Exam Finale Roadblock, being the only one to figure it out on her first try, allowing them to beat their more athletically inclined competition and win the Race.

• All or Nothing: The episode quote from the finale came from Maya saying this word-for-word while on the plane to Los Angeles.
• Ascended Fangirl: Maya, according to the deleted scenes, wanted to do the race for the longest time.
• Awesomeness by Analysis: Though they were easily the least physically fit team, they managed to do well on many of the tasks thanks to their superior technique. Such as figuring out the correct angle to use their peat cutting tool in Scotland (while Jim just brute forced his way through), Maya quickly churning butter in Morocco (blowing past Brooke and Robbie, who started before them), and Amy passing the last leg's Final Exam Finale on her first attempt.
• Chekhov's Hobby: Maya's studying of butter and milk fat allowed her to blow by Brooke & Robbie during the goat milking Detour, even though the wrestlers had gotten a huge jump on churning their butter, as she knew the force applied was more important than the speed.
• Chewing the Scenery: Maya, whenever she would get excited:
  • Maya's celebrations at the food service Roadblock in leg 4 included her screaming, waving her arms, rolling on the floor, and even a deliberate Face Plant.
  • Maya's victory laps at each Pit Stop, and celebrating their win by doing one last victory lap (at the encouragement of Phil) around the Finish Line.
• Dark Horse Victory: They had the usually fatal tendency of finishing mostly in the middle to back of the pack during the first half of the race That, along with being generally Out of Focus, lead many to believe that at some point they would be eliminated. In fact, their elimination was all but assured in Leg 11 after Amy struggled with the Delivery Roadblock. At the beginning of Leg 12, every team was confident that Amy & Maya would be the one eliminated midway through the leg.
• David Versus Goliath: They referred to themselves as the David going against the "Goliaths" that were the Dentists at the beginning of Leg 11.
• Deus ex Machina: The twist that four teams would be racing in the final leg for the only time in show history kept them in the game and allowed them to make their comeback.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: For Amy in particular, who, being both out of shape and suffering from a leg injury, held back the team many times over the course of the season, and was visibly suffering through most of it, but ultimately it was her who won them the Race with her performance on the final Roadblock.
• Fascinating Eyebrow: Amy gave one to Phil at the fourth Pit Stop.
• Friend to All Living Things: They had almost no trouble with the two animal tasks in the third leg. First, during the peat cutting Detour their Shetland pony was the only one not to give any trouble, most likely because they calmly guided it instead of rushing and pulling it like all the other teams. Later, they appeared to have the easiest time flocking the sheep, as they again calmly guided their sheep to the pen while the other teams got frustrated and tried going quickly, which scared the sheep and sent them running.
• Game-Breaking Injury: At the beginning of Leg 8, they discussed that Amy was so excited to be on the Race, she had hurt her leg while training and preparing, explaining the weird, loping run that she had been doing all season. In fact, this led to them having to switch Detours in the same leg, as Amy couldn't run up the pole to grab her flag.
• Genki Girl: At the 8th Pit Stop, Phil was amazed that Maya was still so full of energy after completing the leg, as she did a victory lap around the immediate area.
• Global Ignorance: At the beginning of the 8th leg, they did not know where Malta was.
• The Glomp:
  • They tried to glomp the Drill Sergeant Nasty task judge at the Buckingham Palace Detour, but he denied them before they could.
  • They succeded in glomping the task judge at the Parking Space Detour in leg 4, Maya actually jumping into his arms.
  • And when winning the Race, Maya literally jumped into Phil's arms.
• History Repeats:
  • Their run was very similar to that of the Beekman Boys. They won no legs before the finale, were the only two winners post Season 11^note The last season the final leg was not set entirely in one city, with no mid-leg flights to be spared by a non-elimination leg, were saved elimination by a Deus ex Machina moment, and were considered cannon fodder during the last leg by the other teams, only for them to figure out the difficult Final Exam Finale Roadblock to win the race.
  • This was only the second season to feature four all-female teams, and just like in Season 17, the sciency/intelligent women won once again.
• In-Series Nickname: Candy Girls.
• The Load: Amy, who had a leg injury and was the least fit on any contestant in the season. Her lack of fitness almost got them eliminated in leg 11 when she struggled with the coconut Roadblock, but they were non-eliminated. This was then turned completely on its head when Amy was the only one to figure out the Final Exam Finale Roadblock in the last leg on her very first try, winning them the Race.
• Loophole Abuse: Amy borrowed a handcart from a local to help her complete the Coconut Roadblock in leg 11.
• No Sense of Direction: They discussed how this was their Fatal Flaw at the beginning of Leg 6, and true to form, that was the third leg in which their navigation issues caused them to drop several places.^note After legs 3 and 4.
  • Subverted in the finale, where they got a lead in the final leg by being the best navigators of any of the teams.
• Oh, Crap!: When they realized they had taken a jeepney going in the wrong direction at the beginning of leg 11.
• Out of Focus: Up until the midpoint of the season, they spent most of their time in the background. They got their first significant characterization in leg 6.
• Pixellation: Maya got this a few times on the side of her breasts during the massage Detour in leg 9, but Amy got much more, including having her breasts and butt repeatedly blurred during the task.
• Popping Buttons: Inverted at the Go Kart Roadblock. Because the racing coveralls provided were all the same size, and had to fit the likes of Jim and Robbie, diminutive Maya was left swimming in hers to prevent Popping Buttons from happening to someone else.
  Amy: The crotch is at your ankles.
• Read the Freaking Clue:
  • At the beginning of leg 6, they failed to find the marked feed station, and just picked up random bags of hay to deliver, dropping them to last place.
  • In leg 10, they started running to get to the Detour while the other teams took motor tricycles as the clue dictated, and it put them in last place
  • Amy, along with every other person, failed to read the posted delivery instructions during the coconut Roadblock in leg 11, forcing her to backtrack during the task. Unlike the other teams, she actually spotted the instructions on her first trip, but did not read the part about how many of each item to bring.
  • In the final leg, they lost their lead over Adam & Bethany when Maya didn't see that she had to take off the stunt gear before moving on, and they had run halfway to the next task before Amy noticed.
• Reality Show Genre Blindness:
  • Upon receiving the talisman that was supposed to lead them to St. Ninian's Isle and the third Pit Stop, most of the teams went to the nearby Scalloway Museum to figure out where the talisman was found, where as they stopped to ask a construction worker on the street. He less-than-confidently directed them back towards Scalloway Castle, and they dropped from 2nd to 5th place.
  • At the beginning of leg 11, they did not bother to ask which way their jeepney was going, just jumping on the first one they saw, dropping them from a tie for first and letting the other two teams get a big lead on them.
• Running Gag: Maya Chewing the Scenery at various points throughout the race, particularly her "victory laps" at each pit stop, which got more play in the deleted scenes.
• Silly Walk: Amy had an odd, loping running technique that was even pointed out and mocked by Brooke. It turns out this was because she had injured her leg during her pre-race exercise regimen.
• Technicolor Science: Their intro featured them working with red and yellow liquids.
• Tempting Fate: Near the beginning of leg 11, Amy started listing off all the things they needed to do to make the Final 3, only for Maya to add "stay hydrated" at the end of her list. Amy would suffer from heat exhaustion at the Roadblock later in the leg.
• Underdogs Never Lose: The underdog narrative was hit pretty hard in the last three episodes, with the other teams even dismissing them as real competition
• Victoria's Secret Compartment: Amy kept the receipts for the coconut roadblock in her bra.
• Weak, but Skilled: In Leg 10, they described themselves as such. See Awesomeness by Analysis for details.
• The World Is Just Awesome: Maya had a couple speeches that talked about this, most prominently in the Philippines, when she wanted to bring jeepneys to the U.S.

Misti Raman & James "Jim" Raman (The Dentists)

Jim: The Race is war, and we hope people at home, especially our patients, can understand that, and can realize that we have to do things a little differently on the Race than what we would do in life.

Married Dentists. Jim boasted constantly about how he and Misti were not only going to dominate the race, but were going to be the most dominant team in Race history. Even though they stumbled every now and then over simple details and travel decisions (especially in Denmark and Morrocco, their only two legs in which they finished worse than 3rd place), they lived up to that boasting and dominated most of the season, winning five legs and overshadowing the other teams in both the physical and mental aspects of the game. It also helped that they won the Save in the premiere, giving them a free pass from elimination if they ever finished in last place (which ultimately would go unused). In the finale, despite a pair of early navigation mistakes, they were able to make it to the final Roadblock in a close 2nd place. However, Misti failed her first attempt at the task, mixing up two of her numbers, whereas Amy succeeded in her first attempt, ensuring them a 2nd place finish.

• Anti-Villain: They had nothing bad to say about the other teams, to their face or behind their backs, nor did they fight. Their only real villainous quality was their egos, which were in desperate need of puncturing.
• Badass Arm-Fold: In their promotional photo.
• Blessed with Suck: Done hilariously during their Speed Bump, when Jim complained that his fingers were "too pumped" to be able to easily tie knots with the thread on the rugs.
• Born Lucky: One of the reasons Kym & Alli disliked the dentists was that they got the Save, then got lucky and kept it after coming in last on the 4th leg.
• Bittersweet Ending: Despite not meeting their expectations, they were happy and viewed going on the race as one the best decisions of their life.
• Call-Back: During the sea plane flight in the first leg, when he saw Kym grab an air sickness bag, Jim told her not to be Bopper and puke down the back of his neck, referencing Bopper's infamous motion sickness.^note This could be a case of Accidental Misnaming however, as Mark was the one that had the infamous motion sickness.)
• Chekhov's Hobby: Averted in leg 10 at the Coach Detour. As they attached the sidecar to their motorcycle, they talked about how they were used to putting things together, such as toys for their kids. They ended up overlooking one of the shocks, leaving it unattached, which dropped them behind Adam & Bethany.
• Competition Freak: Jim was super intense, and wanted to become the most dominant team in Race history. Misti was not quite as competitive, but would get frazzled when everything wasn't going perfectly.
• Death Glare: Jim wore one from the point they hit the food service Roadblock in leg four, through the Confession Cams after the leg, with only a short break when Phil gave their Save Pass back. Most evident when he had this exchange with Shelley, after she and her daughter, currently in last, showed up:
  Jim: This is the worst feeling ever.
  Shelley: *laughs* Tell me about it.
  Jim glares at where Shelley just patted him on the shoulder.
• Don't Look Down: Misti told herself this while zip-lining in leg 6.
• Failed a Spot Check:
  • They missed out on the first sea plane in the first leg when they ran to the actual planes instead of to the sign up sheet in the market.
  • Once each on both sides of the Detour in the 4th leg. First, they had trouble with the Parklet side as they failed to notice the flowerpot was facing the wrong way (the correct side showing was supposed to have 8 petals, their side only had 7). Then, after struggling with that Detour for so long, they decided to go for the Cake Tower side, only for them to drop a flag on the way to make the delivery, forcing them to go back and pick up the lost flag in order to complete the task.
  • In Leg 5, they took quite a while to complete the Tea Time Detour because Misti overlooked the demonstration telling her she needed to use one hand to hold the tea tray.
  • While putting the sidecar on their motorbike at the Detour in leg 10, they took some time to notice that one of the shocks wasn't properly attached, putting them behind Adam & Bethany.
  • Jim, along with every other person, failed to read the posted delivery instructions during the coconut Roadblock in leg 11, forcing him to backtrack during the task.
  • It took Jim a while to find the clue in his satchel after the stunt Roadblock in the finale, as he missed the zippered pouch which held the clue.
• Game-Breaking Injury: Misti injured her foot in Leg 10 and it caused her issues during the Leg 11 cycling detour.
• Genius Bruiser: Jim has a body builder's build and Misti is in great shape herself, and they both therefore tended to easily deal with physical tasks, but they also both work as dentists and are good at mental tasks as well. Most of their struggles came down to not paying attention to details.
• Global Ignorance: Like many of the racers, Misti did not know where Malta was.
• Happily Married
• Head Desk: Jim started hitting his head against a nearby shipping container when Amy was the first to return during the Final Exam Finale Roadblock.
• Humiliation Conga: After a strong first three legs in which Jim's only annoyance was getting 2nd place once, their 4th leg was a whole different story. It started with them smugly believing they got the first flight to Copenhagen, only to later realize Kym & Alli had a 2 hour lead on them. Later, they were baffled at being unable to set up a parklet at the Detour, and had to switch to delivering a cake, where they were the only team that had to go back because they lost a flag on the way. Misti then had to take 9 tries and an hour to recite a menu order for the Roadblock, way more than any other team, because she forgot to say the number of each sandwich.^note And that's only what made it into the episode, as bonus videos reveal that they constantly got lost, made an ill-advised Denmark guidebook purchase which they had to sell just to make it back to Denmark, and forgot their clue at one point. The editors even inserted a flashback to Jim's boasting at the beginning of the leg just to rub it in. Their only consolation was that they could keep their Save since it was a non-elimination leg, but it was an eye-opener for Jim, as he found it particularly humiliating that those were tasks they believed they should be good at. Not that he was any more humble on the following leg.
• I'm Not Here to Make Friends: They stated this in their intro interview.
• In-Series Nickname: Jim wanted to be called "Team Domination," but this never caught on.
• Loophole Abuse: Jim borrowed a handcart from a local to help him complete the Coconut Roadblock in leg 11.
• Muscles Are Meaningful:
  • Subverted in leg 9 at the high wire Roadblock, where Jim weighed down the wire, and it eventually caused him to lose his footing, causing him to take much longer at the task than anyone else.
  • Subverted again in leg 11 at the cycling Detour, when his weight caused Misti to get passed by Amy & Maya twice, and Misti to get super defensive about how Amy & Maya didn't have an injured foot or a 250 pound passenger^note Although Amy actually did have an injured leg from pre-race training.
• Nerves of Steel: At the tightrope Roadblock in Singapore, the upper support wire snapped while Jim was on it, leaving him dangling hundreds of feet above the ground by his safety harness. This was never brought up again for the rest of the leg, and both of them stayed perpetually calm even when the locals were deliberately trying to annoy them at the crab Detour.
• No Sense of Direction: They had issues navigating Los Angeles, which dropped them to 3rd place to begin the finale.
• Oh, Crap!: When they realized they had taken a jeepney going in the wrong direction at the beginning of leg 11.
• Older Than They Think: An In-Universe example in leg 9, when they and Adam & Bethany booked tickets to Singapore arriving at 6:40, only to have Kym & Alli find a 6:00 AM flight just by asking if there was a faster one then they predetermined flight they were provided. Jim then said in a confessional that there was a "new rule" that prevented teams from switching flights once they had tickets booked. This rule, in fact, had been used previously in the first season, and never again since.
• Only in It for the Money: Their intended goal was to win the money in order to pay off their massive dental school debts, and even apologized for their villainous behavior before the season even started.
• Perpetual Frowner: Though Jim would smile to show off his teeth, the rest of the time he wore an off-putting frown that was most responsible for him coming off as a Jerkass early on.
• Perpetual Smiler: Misti, in order to show of her blindingly white teeth.
• Pixellation: Jim got his mouth blurred when he said the tannery in Morocco smelled like shit.
• Punch-Clock Villain: They stated in their intro video that they intended to do whatever it took to win, and hoped their family, friends, and patients understood it was not who they really were as people, but were only playing the game.
• Read the Freaking Clue:
  • They had to redo the punting task in the second leg due to standing on the wrong ends of the boat.
  • Misti kept getting the food service Roadblock wrong as she only recited the recipes and didn't mention the item numbers as instructed by the clue. It took her 10 tries to figure it out.
• Reality Show Genre Blindness:
  • Upon going for the Peat Detour in the third leg, Jim said how he had noticed how that physical Detours are always faster. However, not only is this a blanket generalization that is questionable at best^note For instance, in Season 11, almost all the mental Detours were the quicker option, the real Genre Blind part of the statement was that the Peat Detour involved the use of a Shetland pony, and animals are always a crap-shoot when it comes to getting tasks done quickly.
  • At the beginning of leg 11, they did not bother to ask which way their jeepney was going, just jumping on the first one they saw, dropping them from a tie for first and letting the other two teams get a big lead on them.
• The Rival: To Kym & Alli, as they saw the cyclists as the biggest competition to their domination, and don't click with them like the other teams. It also did not help that the cyclists were Fun Personified, versus their Serious Business attitude.
• Rivals Team Up: With Kym & Alli for the opening part of leg 7, in order to keep their lead over the other teams. They even shared a cab out of the Palermo airport.
• Running Gag:
  • After winning their fourth leg, Jim stated how they would soon have "the thumb," which he would bring up both at the beginning of the next leg, and after getting "the thumb" with their fifth leg win.
  • Also, discussions about their teeth, complete with Audible Gleams
• Second Place Is for Losers: Upon finishing 2nd in the second leg, Jim said the second place is the first loser. Ultimately averted at the end.
• Sequence Breaking: They missed the Blind Detour clue in leg 8, as they spotted Kym & Alli at the Flag side, followed them there, and started doing the task before realizing they hadn't found the Detour clue.
• Smug Smiler: A combination of their Punch Clock Villainy and Perpetual Smiling. See Unsportsmanlike Gloating for one example.
• Stubborn Mule: During the peat cutting Detour in leg 3, their Shetland pony bucked as they tried to lead it up the hill for the second time.
• Taking You with Me: Jim's strategy on the go kart Roadblock was to actively block Kym from passing him so that if he didn't achieve the necessary time, she wouldn't either.
• Tempting Fate: Jim repeatedly talked about how their goal was to be the most dominating team the Race had ever seen.
  • This was most evident in Leg 4, where everything they said would haunt them later in the leg on their way to last place.
  • At both the start and ending of leg 10, he said they would end the season by winning out the last three legs.
  • When Brooke was pouting about Amy & Maya not being eliminated at the end of leg 11, Jim tried to cheer her up by saying that the scientists were the most likely to get eliminated in the middle of the leg anyway, as they were low hanging fruit.
• This Is A Race: Jim stated this while racing Kym & Alli to the Pit Stop in leg 7.
• Twinkle Smile: They got these multiple times throughout the season, often with an Audible Gleam.
• Unsportsmanlike Gloating: Upon being the first team to complete the Buckingham Palace Detour, Jim said he liked to let out a "call of battle" so that the other teams knew they were getting "left behind."

Adam Dirks & Bethany Hamilton (The Surfers)

Newlywed Surfers, Bethany is well known from Soul Surfer, a movie based on how she lost her arm in a shark attack. Bethany impressed often with her challenge performance, as her and Adam's calm and level-headed demeanors, combined with never losing their temper with each other, helped them to consistently finish at the top of the pack. They managed to get a slim lead in the finale heading into the final Roadblock, but Bethany struggled to put her numbers in the right order more than any other contestant, which ultimately ended up dropping them to 3rd place.

• All or Nothing: How they described going for the Fast Forward during Leg 9. As revealed in a Deleted Scene, though it was a huge risk (as they had been on a flight 40 minutes behind the other teams), they were willing to risk the Fast Forward as they correctly guessed that the task was their forte and assumed that other teams would struggle with the wave house^note Kym & Alli struggled because the show set the required time at two minutes; had they set it at one minute, Kym & Alli would have won the Fast Forward before Adam & Bethany got there. They said at the Pit Stop that the Fast Forward was either going to get them first place, or send them to dead last.
  • Also their performance in general. After Leg 1, they were either checking in in the top two or bottom-two at the Pit Stop.
• Catchphrase: "Stoked." In a Deleted Scene, Bethany said she probably says the word too much, and Adam joked they probably need a thesaurus for variety.
• Character Shilling: A lot of their airtime was spent with people gushing about Bethany's abilities, most specifically during the tannery Roadblock in leg 5, when both Brooke and Kym were shown praising her while she was doing her first Roadblock. A positive example, as she was shown to live up to the shilling.
• Chekhov's Hobby: Their surfing backgrounds won them the Fast Forward in Leg 9.
• Driving Stick: Bethany has obvious issues driving a stick shift, and was able to drive in the finale because they were given an automatic.
• Failed a Spot Check:
  • They had trouble with the Parking Space Detour in leg 4 as they failed to notice the flowerpot was facing the wrong way (the correct side showing was supposed to have 8 petals, their side only had 7). Unlike Misti & Jim, they eventually figured this out but not before Tim & Te Jay caught up to them.
  • Adam misplaced their clue leading them to the Roadblock in leg 11, losing them their huge lead on the other teams as they wandered around the Divisoria Market looking for the clue box, before he discovered the clue in his backpack.
  • Adam, along with every other person, failed to read the posted delivery instructions during the coconut Roadblock in leg 11, forcing him to backtrack during the task.
• Handicapped Badass: Bethany is shown to be more capable than most people with two arms.
• Inspirationally Disadvantaged: Bethany lost her arm in a shark attack.
• It's All My Fault: Bethany, after the other teams left the final Roadblock.
• Mr. Fanservice: During the treasure hunting Roadblock in the first leg, Kym asked Adam if he could take his life vest off and do the task shirtless. Bethany was not amused and told him to keep it on. He did go shirtless in the 9th leg, though Kym wasn't happy to see him since it was at the Fast Forward.
• No Sense of Direction:
  • They got lost on the way to the 4th Pit Stop, allowing Shelley & Nici to pass them and dropping from 6th to 7th.
  • They got lost again at the beginning of leg 6, dropping them behind Kym & Alli.
• Plucky Girl: Bethany has seldom shown being discouraged for having one arm. Also, outside the race as well, as it took her three weeks to get back to surfing after the shark attack.
• Read the Freaking Clue: After the treasure hunting Roadblock they brought their shovel and treasure chest with them to the first Pit Stop, which, in a Deleted Scene, caused Phil to ask them why they had brought it, and tell them they should have read their clue.
• Real Men Love Jesus: The first thing Adam talked about in their intro interview was their relationship with God.
• Reality Show Genre Blindness:
  • Upon arriving first at JFK airport in the first leg, they failed to find the marked ticket counter, something that is set up in the first leg of every season, which dropped them to 3rd place (though still on the first flight).
  • In Leg 9, they did not think to search for a better connection to get to Singapore after their clue provided them tickets through Paris. This landed them on the second flight with Misti & Jim (who booked the same flight when they thought the surfers did the research), while all 3 other teams were on the first flight, 40 minutes ahead.
• Sickeningly Sweethearts: As newlyweds, they were the most affectionate couple of the season. In a Deleted Scene, Shelley & Nici referred to them as Team PDA.,
• Strategy Versus Tactics: In the second leg, they did not hesitate to risk their leg win when presented with the opportunity to take a detour to win the Express Pass, knowing that the Express Pass was more valuable in the long run. They ended up winning the leg anyway as the two teams right behind them, Misti & Jim and Kym & Alli, both had to redo the punting task.
• Stubborn Mule: During the peat cutting Detour in leg 3, their Shetland pony bucked as they tried to lead it up the hill.
• Stunned Silence: Adam, during the treasure hunting Roadblock, when Lisa said that the sun rose in the west, including a glance towards Amy, who was stunned as well.
• Surfer Dude: Adam fit this.
• Tempting Fate: At the start of Leg 9, Adam said he couldn't see a flight getting into Singapore earlier than the one they had at 6:40. Kym & Alli then found a earlier one.

Brooke "Ms. Tessmacher" Adams & Robert "Robbie E." Strauss (The Wrestlers)

Brooke: You're talkin' about two people who aren't the smartest of the whole group... We're directionally challenged. We're confused about what continent we're in most of the time, and we're in the final four.

Dating Pro Wrestlers with the TNA organization. They struggled early on, constantly finding themselves in last place, but staying in the game mostly because of their performance at the physical portions of the game. Their poor performance took a back seat to their antics, as Brooke freaked out whenever they would hit the smallest of problems, while Robbie constantly Chewed the Scenery. Despite always insisting that they were a threat to win, they never followed through on these boasts until they won the penultimate leg. However, they got sorely lost trying to find the Los Angeles City Hall due to following bad directions, dropping them way behind. By the time they reached the first Roadblock, that task's final stunt shoot was already in progress, and after it was completed, Phil emerged to eliminate them in 4th place for missing the call time that the other teams made.

• Absurd Phobia: The goat milking Detour in leg 6 saw Robbie standing off to the side, holding the bowl, while Brooke caught all the goats, and then being forced to hold the goat by the horn so she could milk them. Later, in leg 10, he was afraid to touch dead fish. In the Deleted Scenes, this was expanded on to him being afraid of all animals, even the two birds at the 6th Pit Stop.
• Aside Glance: In leg 10, during the Detour, when Robbie started telling a story about how he had a goldfish as a kid, and how it was helping him collect fish, even though they were dead, Brooke gave one to the camera.
• Big "OMG!": While delivering their wedding cake in the 4th leg Detour, Brooke decided she was going to hold the cake up for the entire ride instead of resting it on the bike, leading to her repeatedly yelling "oh my god," when her arms started tiring. She would do this again during the Roadblock in Leg 6 when she struggled with getting across the canyon using the rope bridge. Brooke would say this once more after coming in first on the penultimate leg and learning that the final leg started immediately.
• Call-Back: When they won leg 11 despite having a Speed Bump, Phil mentioned how they were the second team to do this after the Cowboys.
• Catchphrase:
  • While Robbie was constantly talking about how hungry he was, Brooke was more notable for saying: "I don't get it", "I don't like it", or "oh my god" during challenges.
  • Whenever Robbie would tell one of his crazy stories or start goofing around, she would tell the camera, "See what I have to deal with every day?"
• Chekhov's Hobby: Double Subverted at the basketball Detour in leg 11. Brooke started the task by saying she used to play basketball, only to repeatedly miss shots at the beginning of the task. Once she found her shot though, she carried them through the rest of the task.
• Codename: While creating the U-Turn plan against Kym & Alli on the ferry to Malta, Robbie suggested that they all take codenames, including "Sniper" for himself.
• Delicious Distraction: Robbie's mind was always on food, and any task that involved food, such as the Wedding Cake Detour, had him trying to eat the food.
• Down to the Last Play: They lost a footrace to Adam & Bethany to the 10th Pit Stop, as both teams found their clue at the ox task almost simultaneously, and they legged it out, with the wrestlers nearly overtaking the surfers. Subverted as it was a non-elimination leg.
• Evil Laugh: Brooke gained one in leg 9 during the massage Detour, when she was laughing at Amy & Maya's screams of pain during the task, and she kept it for the rest of the leg.
• Face–Heel Turn: While they started the season as Plucky Comic Relief, Brooke made a heel turn starting in the eighth episode when she targeted Kym & Alli with the U-Turn, then took joy in lying to Amy & Maya in the next leg about finding the clue.
• Failed a Spot Check:
  • It took them 8 attempts to do the Tea Time Detour as Brooke missed the part where she had to lift the tea kettles as she poured.
  • It took them forever to find their clue at the Center Square in Singapore when they kept passing up the man with the huge yellow and red sign on his back.
  • Robbie, along with every other person, failed to read the posted delivery instructions during the coconut Roadblock in leg 11, forcing him to backtrack during the task.
• Failing a Taxi:
  • It took them 40 minutes to catch a cab to the go kart Roadblock in Palermo, mostly because they stood in one place while the other teams either sought out or called a cab. However, because the heats ran every 20 minutes, they were able to catch up with the other trailing teams.
  • Twice in Leg 8, first after they served the knights, when their inability to find a cab lost them their spot in the first rappelling group in the morning to Jim & Misti. Later in the leg, it might have cost them the race had Tim & Te Jay not switched Detours so late (though in that instance they had been stupid enough to let their cab go in the first place, while Tim & Te Jay hadn't).
• Finger-Tenting: Brooke did this after her lie to Amy & Maya in leg 10.
• Follow That Car: They tried following Adam & Bethany to Los Angeles City Hall, but ended up failing to take a turn and getting lost.
• Global Ignorance:
  • Upon driving from Denmark to Sweden, Robbie asked if Sweden was a different country.
  • Upon being told to fly there, Brooke had to ask where Sicily was.
  • In Leg 10, they joked that they didn't know what continent they were on most of the time.
• Hypocrite: At the beginning of the final leg, Brooke openly complained about Amy & Maya being saved by a non-elimination leg despite being saved by an non-elimination leg just two legs earlier.
• I Was Beaten by a Girl: Brooke was throwing fits on the boat during the Roadblock in leg 8 when both Bethany and a hobbled Amy beat Robbie at swimming to the clue.
• Jerk Jock: While Robbie was a Lovable Jock, Brooke had a complex about losing, especially towards Kym & Alli constantly beating them. This finally showed in full during Leg 9, when she deliberately misdirected Amy & Maya from the clue to the Pit Stop for having "bad attitudes" even though it was in their best interest to do so, as keeping Amy & Maya in the game meant the elimination of a stronger team.
• Kayfabe: They mostly broke this, with Robbie even distinguishing their real personalities from the characters they play in the ring in leg 10, but in a confession cam right before the finale, Robbie talked about their wrestling championships as if they were really won instead of given by the organization.
• Lovable Jock: After displaying Jerk Jock traits in the first leg, Robbie instead became Plucky Comic Relief from there on out.
• Lampshaded Double Entendre: After Robbie started making all the usual innuendos that accompany milking tasks while Brooke milked a goat, she scolded him and told him not to make the task perverted.
• Large Ham: They are pro-wrestlers after all. See Wrestler in All of Us.
• Malaproper:
  • In the fourth episode, Brooke used "handyman spot" instead of handicap spot. Later in the leg she couldn't pronounce maître d'.
  • In Leg 5, Robbie mixed up Morocco with maraca when he said that Morocco was something with bells that you shook.
  • While on the ferry to Malta in leg 8, Robbie said the needed to "racket" the game up a notch, instead of "ratchet."
• Nausea Fuel: In-Universe during the Ox task in leg 10, when watching their ox poop, and then realized what they were walking and digging around in.
• Never My Fault: Brooke repeatedly got upset over Amy & Maya's non-elimination heading into the finale, and blamed the scientists for them losing the race. However, even if they hadn't gotten eliminated, they got so lost looking for Los Angeles City Hall, that they had no chance of winning the Race anyway.
• No Sense of Direction:
  • They meant to choose the peat cutting Detour the third leg, but ended up doing the viking torch Detour because they drove to it by mistake.
  • In Leg 10, they admitted to being "Directionally Challenged".
  • This is what did them in the final leg, as they got bad directions after landing in Los Angeles and losing track of the Surfers.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: At the Singapore airport in leg 10, when Amy & Maya confronted them about lying to them about the Pit Stop clue in the previous leg, they both just looked confused and said they didn't understand what the girls were asking. It helped that Amy & Maya did not think they were all that bright in the first place.
• Oh, Crap!: When they saw Phil appear at the stunt Roadblock in the finale.
• Perma-Stubble: Robbie.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Much of their airtime is dedicated to showing what ridiculous thing they would say next.
• Read the Freaking Manual: During the coconut Roadblock in leg 11, Robbie, along with missing the posted delivery instructions, did not read how many of each item he needed to deliver, forcing him to backtrack a second time, though they had such a huge lead due to the other teams' mistakes that he still finished first.
• Reality Show Genre Blindness: After being the first team to arrive at the My Ox is Broken task, they picked the biggest of the four fields to plow, giving them the most land to cover for finding their clue, and, as a result, they ended up dropping to last place.
• The Resenter: Brooke showed shades of this in leg 8 towards Kym & Ali for always being ahead of them, and again towards Bethany when she out-swam Robbie at the Roadblock despite him being ahead of her at first. This led her to rally the other teams to target Kym & Alli with the U-Turn.
• Self-Deprecation:
  • During the food service Roadblock in Denmark, Robbie claimed that their constant hits to the head during their wrestling matches would cause him issues with mental tasks during this Roadblock.
  • When they actually managed to reach the ox task first in leg 10, Robbie was shocked that they were actually in first place for once, and said how much it surprised him.
• Shoo Out the Clowns
• Silly Walk: Brooke will pull these out from time to time, like at the beginning of leg 7 at the travel agency.
• Sleeves Are for Wimps: They like to show off their muscles.
• Small Name, Big Ego: After ending up on the second flight in the first leg, Robbie said they were still going to win the leg, as he had sized up the five teams on the first flight and didn't consider them threats.
• A Storm Is Coming: Discussed during the fishing Detour in leg 10, when a storm started coming in while they were out in the ocean for their fourth trip out to the fishing nets. Though they finished the Detour first, they would finish last that leg.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial: At the beginning of the seventh leg, Robbie listed off the things he didn't miss like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, eyebrow threading, tanning, and the gym.
  Robbie: I'm not thinking about any of those things. I definitely haven't thought about tweeting today. I haven't thought about working out either.
• Tempting Fate:
  • One of their Deleted Scenes from leg 7 was titled, "We'll Never be Eliminated."
  • In Leg 9, upon seeing Amy & Maya in tears from the Massage Detour, Brooke laughed and bragged about how the pain wouldn't get to her. It did.
  • After lying to Amy & Maya about lying to them about the Pit Stop clue in the previous leg, they said that the last team they would be afraid of were a couple of candy girls. Reiterated at the end of episode 11, while they were hyping up the finale.
  • Another of their deleted scenes, they boasted about they wanted to use the money to make championship belts commemorating their victory and hiring the other racers.
  • At the beginning of the finale, Robbie guaranteed they would win the Race.
• That Came Out Wrong: In leg 4:
  Robbie: After this, she's a phenomenal baker, and I'm a phenomenal waitress... I'm actually a waiter. I just called myself a waitress.
• This Is A Race: Brooke's reasoning for lying to Amy & Maya about the merlion Pit Stop clue in leg 9, even though it was in her best interest to tell the candy scientists where the clue was.
• Trash Talk: Brooke trash talked the other teams prior to the go kart Roadblock. It comes naturally with her job as a wrestler.
• Unknown Rival: To Kym & Alli, due to them being loners, and beating the wrestlers in almost every leg. Their dislike of the cyclists was so much, that they ignored the dentists being just as dangerous.
• Unskilled, but Strong: They tend to struggle with the mental tasks, dropping them to the back of the pack, but later make up time on the more physical portions of the leg. Each of the first three legs involved them dropping to last place early on, only to make a comeback to finish in the middle of the pack. In Leg 10, they basically admitted to being this by listing their flaws and saying their strategy was to do all of the Physical Tasks over the mental ones.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Heights for Brooke.
• Wrestler in All of Us: While carrying their bags of hay in leg 6, Brooke went to town on her bag, slamming it to the ground and dropping an elbow on it before Robbie yelled at her for wasting time.

Kym Perfetto & Alli Forsythe (The Cyclists)

Urban Bike Racers, they made a notable splash in the third leg when they started walking the streets of Oxford, and called the other teams "square" for just wanting to sit at the train station instead of having a good time on their trip around the world. In addition to their snarking and their entertaining personalities, they were one of the strongest teams of the season, as they were the first female team to win back-to-back legs since Season 17, and only leaving the top 3 twice^note A 7th place finish in Leg 3 and their elimination in 5th place. They decided to try for the surfing Fast Forward in Leg 9, only to struggle and allow Adam & Bethany (who were on a flight 40 minutes behind them) to catch up and claim it. Kym & Alli could not recover the time lost, and were eliminated in 5th place.

• Action Girl: They are competitive cyclists, and there weren't many tasks on the Race they had trouble with. They also became the first female team since Season 17 to put together back-to-back leg wins.^note At least in the U.S. version, several female teams had accomplished that on other versions during that time span.
• Call-and-Response Song: At the Cream Detour, Kym turned the local butter churner's singing into this by replying to his Arabic lyrics with improvised lyrics of her own.
• Dartboard of Hate: Kym told Alli to envision her face while pounding nails at the viking torch Detour.
• Deadpan Snarker: Specifically when it came to Jim & Misti, as they preferred to state their distaste for the dentists by sarcastically talking about how much they liked them.
• Delicious Distraction: After both the food themed Detour and Roadblock in leg 4, Kym asked if the could have some of the food. They were both given pastries at the Detour, but got nothing at the Roadblock. She again asked for food after setting up their food cart in the following leg.
• Eating Lunch Alone: They sat off by themselves on the ferry to Malta in leg 8 while all the other teams plotted to U-Turn them.
• Failed a Spot Check:
  • Alli, during the treasure hunting Roadblock, did not see the anchor she was supposed to start following directions from, so she went to the bell instead, saying it was also an anchor.
  • They almost had to redo the Wedding Cake Detour, as they dropped their receipt while performing triage on their cake outside. They managed to find it, keeping their lead on the other teams.
• Fun Personified
• Girls with Moustaches: They both drew on fake mustaches before heading into the second Pit Stop, as they were given bowlers (a tribute to Winston Churchill, as the Pit Stop was at his birthplace) to lead them to there. They combined the two items and Kym did a Charlie Chaplin impression while running up to the mat.
• Global Ignorance: Despite Kym's extensive world travels (it took them until the 7th leg before they visited a place she had not been before), she did not know where Malta was, or that it was its own country.
• The Glomp: Kym glomped the Drill Sergeant Nasty task judge at the Buckingham Palace Detour, much to his disgust.
• In-Series Nickname: The Cyclists.
• Loners Are Freaks: At the beginning of Leg 8, the other teams plotted to U-Turn them based upon the fact that they kept to themselves^note It was mostly Brooke & Robbie, Jim & Misti, and Amy & Maya. Adam & Bethany didn't want to use their U-Turn if they didn't have to, and Tim & Te Jay didn't care as long as they weren't the target. This was lampshaded by Kym, saying that it was natural because they were from New York. Subverted in that, while the other teams saw them as this, they were not presented in a negative light because of it.
• Loophole Abuse: Twice during the Leg 4 Detour. First, they brought their cake in two separate pieces, instead of bringing it whole like the task intended, and put it together before going in to get it judged. Second, they brought the icing bag with them to fix any mistakes that were made on the cake mid-journey, which allowed them to bring the cake in two pieces.
• No Sense of Direction: They were the first team to complete their torch at the Detour in leg 3, but went the wrong way while looking for the dock where they were supposed to light it, dropping them two spots.
• Omniglot: Kym, thanks to her extensive world travels, was constantly shown being able to communicate with locals in their native languages.
• Passionate Sports Girl: For cycling.
• Pixellation: Both of the got this on the side of their breasts during the massage Detour in leg 9.
• Popping Buttons: Inverted at the Go Kart Roadblock. Because the racing coveralls provided were all the same size, and had to fit the likes of Jim and Robbie, Kym was left swimming in hers to prevent Popping Buttons from happening to someone else.
• Read the Freaking Clue: They had to redo the punting task in the second leg due to standing on the wrong ends of the boat.
• The Rival: To Misti & Jim. After six legs of the two teams having almost no shown interaction, they started the seventh leg by talking about how they saw them as their biggest competition, and were off-put Jim's intensity. They then proceeded to write "Team No-Fun" in the dirt on their window.
• Rivals Team Up: With Jim & Misty for the opening part of leg 7, in order to keep their lead over the other teams. They even shared a cab out of the Palermo airport.
• Satellite Character: Alli, as Kym generally does most of the talking for the team.
• Self-Deprecation: Upon reaching the Restaurant Roadblock in the fourth leg, Kym said that she was going to be the worst waitress the restaurant ever had.
• Smooch of Victory: Kym did this to the task judge after completing the food service Roadblock in leg 4.
• "Stop Having Fun" Guys: Not them, but what they accused the other teams of being at the beginning of the third leg. As the only train to Aberdeen, Scotland left six hours from then, they went out to explore Oxford on their own while the other teams camped out at the train station, saying that the whole point of the Race was to see the world.
  • They specifically had this complaint about Jim & Misti, proclaiming them Team No-Fun.
• Tank-Top Tomboy: Both of them mostly wore tank tops, giving Kym, in particular, ample opportunities to show off her biceps.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Heights for Kym.
• The World Is Just Awesome: Their racing attitude in general particularly in leg 7.

Timothy "Tim" Tsao & Te Jay McGrath (T&T)

College Sweethearts. After a 2nd place finish in the first leg, they hovered safely in the middle of the pack for half the season, flying under the radar until they finished last, but were spared elimination, in leg 7. In the following leg, they completed their Speed Bump speedily enough that they went into the Blind Detour mostly even with the other teams, but were the only team to fully commit to the physical Flag task instead of the tedious Shine side, even after seeing all the other teams quit and go to the other Detour. By the time Tim was able to convince Te Jay that he couldn't grab the flag at the tip of the pole, and they finally decided to switch Detours, they were so far behind their elimination was all but guaranteed, and they finished in 6th place.

• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: The sixth leg started with them talking about how they were at a physical disadvantage going against teams made up of pro wrestlers, pro surfers, and pro dentists... who body build on the side.
• Camp Gay
• Elimination Montage
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Only four of the six teams were able to do the Painters Detour in leg 7, and Tim & Te Jay were in 5th place heading for it. Instead of just heading for the Posers Detour like Robbie & Brooke, they chose to try for Painters. They were able to catch up to the other two teams while Amy & Maya and Adam & Bethany were asking for directions to Tonnara Florio, and were actually the first team up the stairs, booting the scientists out of the task. As it turned out, the Posers task was much quicker, and they ended up dropping to last place and being saved by a non-elimination.
  Tim: Well let's hope the other one's not super easy.
• In-Series Nickname: "T&T"^note The third team to go by that nickname, after Tramel & Talicia (Season 3) and Tom & Terry (Season 10)
• No Sense of Direction: They got lost looking for Scalloway Castle on the third leg, dropping them to last place. However, the bottlenecking at the viking torch Detour allowed them to catch up rather quickly
• Parental Obliviousness: Te Jay's mom was oblivious to his sexual orientation, thinking Tim was his roommate despite Te Jay doing nothing to hide it.
• Read the Freaking Clue: During the treasure hunting Roadblock in the first leg, Tim initially started digging at his starting point, the bell, instead of following the directions on his clue.
• Reality Show Genre Blindness: In their final leg, their decision to stick with the pole running Detour so long was questionable, but not a horribly bad one. However, their decision to switch so late, after watching Brooke & Robbie switch twice, was. By that time, after showing up at the Shine Detour and seeing that the wrestlers were the only team left, and how long and tedious the task was, their only real chance to stay in the Race was to complete the Flag Detour.
• Sequence Breaking: They missed the Blind Detour clue in leg 8, as they spotted Kym & Alli at the Flag side, followed them there, and started putting on their safety equipment before realizing they hadn't found the Detour clue.
• Slow Clap: At the Flag Detour, after Tim had failed several times, the locals started giving him a slow clap, and the show started playing dramatic music in accordance with this... only for Tim to then fail again.
• The Smart Guy: While other teams had to go find locals to look up the capitals of the Scandanavian countries in leg 4, Te Jay just listed them all off the top of his head.
• Surprise Difficulty: They said this in response to Phil's question at the second Pit Stop.
• Twofer Token Minority: Tim, being Asian and gay.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Heights for Te Jay.

Shelley Porter & Nici Porter

Mother/Daughter flight attendants, both having formerly served in the armed services. They were long time fans of the show, and initially this was their story, but Nici's frequent meltdowns, couple with Shelley's aggressive gameplay (passive or otherwise), turned them into one of the more divisive teams of the season. After starting the 6th leg in the middle of the pack, they got lost driving around Morocco, trying to find a pottery stand in Amizmiz. This put them so far behind they were eliminated in 7th place.

• Ascended Fangirl: Much of their airtime in the second leg was spent talking about how much they loved the show, and how much of a dream it was for them to be on the Race.
• Bittersweet Ending: Invoked by Phil upon their elimination, as they lost, but managed to resolve some of their relationship issues.
• Blatant Lies: Nici telling Phil, "I'm fine," right before melting down on the mat.
• Call It Karma: Shelley said that the U-Turn on Keith & Whitney was karma for him playing dirty.
• Chekhov's Hobby: Averted with Nici during the Buckingham Palace Detour. See Damn You, Muscle Memory!.
• Damn You, Muscle Memory!: Nici struggled with the changing of the guard Detour at Buckingham Palace in the second leg because she marched like the Air Force had taught her, instead of how the Royal Guard wanted her to. This was pointed out by the task judge, who noticed that she had to have some military training, as she did the "about face" incorrectly.
• Don't Look Down: Shelley said this to herself while crossing the wire bridge in their final Roadblock.
• Dysfunctional Family: Their fighting, Shelley's passive aggressiveness, and Nici's meltdowns put them on the same level with many of the show's notorious young fighting couples.
• Evil Gloating: Shelley, in Leg 5, came off as far too pleased with herself after U-Turning Keith & Whitney.
• Evil Matriarch: Shelley, in contrast with her Nervous Wreck of a daughter.
• Face Palm: When Nici squatted and peed in front of a boat full of boys during the punting task in the second leg, one of the boys Face Palmed during his laughter.
• Felony Misdemeanor: During the tannery Roadblock in leg 5, Shelley was correct that they should have received the clue in front of Keith & Whitney, as though Keith made it to the mat first, Whitney was nowhere near him, while both the mother and daughter was present. However, she way overreacted to a delay in getting their clue that amounted to a matter of seconds, and took glee in being able to U-Turn them later in the leg, saying it was karma for Keith playing dirty.
• Heel–Face Revolving Door: Their portrayal, of whether they were supposed to be a likable team or a villainous one, changed from leg to leg, and sometimes even during legs, depending on how they were getting along at the moment.
• I'm Not Here to Make Friends: They stated this at the beginning of the second leg.
• Mum Looks Like a Sister: They say they get this a lot due to Shelley having Nici at 17, and Shelley even likes to tell people that Nici is her older sister. Misti & Jim even mistook them for sisters in a Deleted Scene from the first leg.
• Nervous Wreck: Nici had epic meltdowns at the end of both the second and fourth legs when she thought they were in danger of elimination.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Shelley was kicking herself for helping Robbie figure out his compass at the treasure hunting Roadblock in leg 1, when he ended up passing her and being the third person to finish the task.
• No Sense of Direction: Their navigation issues in Morocco got them eliminated.
• Passive-Aggressive Kombat: While Nici was melting down in the fourth leg, Shelley just calmly let her drive past the Pit Stop parking, then pushed her buttons on the mat until she stormed off the mat.
• Pixellation: Shelley got her mouth blurred while talking about Keith after their confrontation at the leg 5 Roadblock.
• Potty Emergency: Nici had one during the punting task in the second leg, which resulted in her squatting in the boat and peeing in the water, right in front of a boat of four boys, who, along with her mother, were falling down laughing.
• Quit Your Whining: When Nici stormed off the mat, Phil told her to come back and that she had to start acting like an adult.
• Sassy Black Woman: Shelley, seen during her confrontation with Keith at the leg 5 Roadblock.
• Smug Smiler: Shelley wore one of these throughout Nici's mat meltdown and post-leg confessionals.
• The Squadette: They both served in the military, Shelley in the Army, Nici in the Air Force.
• Stubborn Mule: During the peat cutting Detour in leg 3, their Shetland pony bucked as they tried to lead it up the hill.
• Teen Pregnancy: Shelley had Nici at 17.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Their communication issues during Leg 4 caused them countless issues during the leg, culminating in a major meltdown at the mat, with Nici walking away, and Phil having to call her back.
• Tempting Fate: Upon reaching the sheep herding task in leg 3, Shelley said that it looked easy and fun. Cue Shelley frantically and uselessly chasing after the sheep until Nici figured out they had to be calm to herd the animals.
• You Didn't Ask: Nici's meltdown at the 4th Pit Stop was set off by Shelley spotting the designated parking area outside the Pit Stop, then not saying anything and allowing Nici to pass it just to prove the point that Nici wasn't ready to be in charge.

Keith Tollefson & Whitney Duncan

Engaged couple who met on Survivor: South Pacific, with Whitney also having finished 5th on Nashville Star.^note They were part of a cast trade with Survivor, as Natalie & Nadiya simultaneously appeared on Survivor: San Juan del Sur They spent the majority of their five legs bickering with each other, though that did not seem to hinder their performance, as they generally finished near the top of the pack. Despite spending a good portion of the fifth leg in the lead, leaving the first two tasks in 1st place, albeit bunched closely with the other teams, they struggled with the Detour, neither of them able to twirl the tassel on thier hat for the required minute. By the time they had decided to switch Detours, they were already in last place, and with Shelley & Nici having decided to U-Turn them in retaliation for a confrontation at the Roadblock, they were guaranteed an 8th place finish.

• Call-Back: After deciding to take the penalty at the treasure hunting Roadblock in the first leg, Whitney talked about how it had also happened during the Season 22 premiere, including shots of the three teams all agreeing to take the penalty.
• Gave Up Too Soon: Not to the level of Lisa, but Keith was off by a few feet when searching for his treasure chest and unlike Lisa & Michelle they survived the leg despite their mistake.
• The Glomp: They glomped the judge at the Parking Space Detour in leg 4.
• Inspirationally Disadvantaged: Keith has a pacemaker, though like exactly on Survivor, it was not discussed beyond their intro video.
• The Masochism Tango: Their bickering was openly discussed by both themselves and Phil. Though they did fight, they said they were not going to break up over it.
• No Sense of Direction: After completing their torch at the Detour in leg 3, they went the wrong way while looking for the dock where they were supposed to light it, dropping them a spot.
• One Head Taller
• Rubber-Band A.I.: After taking a four-hour penalty in the first leg, they were able to catch up right away thanks to an arranged flight in the second leg, which had reserved spots on two flights to London.
• Stubborn Mule: Keith's reason for wanting to take the viking torch Detour in leg 3, as the other option involved walking a Shetland pony up a hill, even comparing the ponies to mules in their stubbornness.
• Surprise Difficulty: Keith commented on this at the fourth Pit Stop.
• Tempting Fate:
  • During their intro, Whitney said they had not won Survivor, but they would win the Race.
  • During the punting task in the second leg, Whitney said at least she had only fallen in once, right before Keith steered her into a tree, knocking her into the water again.
• Unskilled, but Strong: They were not good at the mental portions of the game, but breezed through the physical tasks.
• Wolverine Publicity: As an immigrant from another CBS Reality Show, they are by far the strangest selection of the many that have made their way to the Race, as Whitney spent her time Out of Focus, and Keith was gone mid-game. However, as a country artist, Whitney's fame does go beyond her appearance on Survivor.

Michael Ward & Scott Strazzullo

Firefighters from Boston, they were involved with the rescue services during the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. They did not get off to a very good start, taking a four-hour penalty at the treasure hunting Roadblock in the first leg, and were further slowed down by Scott twisting his ankle at the beginning of the third leg. However, despite Scott's ankle slowing down their pace, and making him mostly useless at the sheep herding task, they still managed to leave said task in front of Tim & Te Jay. They were passed by the couple when they decided to go to a local bar to find out the location of the Pit Stop, instead of the Scalloway Museum like most of the other teams, and were sent the wrong way by a local, eliminating them in 9th place.

• Call It Karma: What Scott said about Lisa & Michelle after they stole the firefighters' spot on the fifth sea plane in leg 1.
• Game-Breaking Injury: Scott twisted his ankle while walking to the train station in their last leg, slowing them both down from there on out.
• Like a Son to Me: How Michael views Scott, despite being only one year older. Scott instead views Michael like a brother.
• Only a Flesh Wound: Lampshaded by Scott when he used those exact words to describe his Game-Breaking Injury.
• Pixellation: Scott's mouth was blurred when they left their taxi at the starting line.
• Reality Show Genre Blindness: Upon receiving the talisman that was supposed to lead them to St. Ninian's Isle and the third Pit Stop, most of the teams went to the nearby Scalloway Museum to figure out where the talisman was found, where as they instead went to a local pub and asked a patron. This less-than-reliable source directed them instead to Weisdale, which was in the other direction, and they fell behind Tim & Te Jay and were eliminated.
• Rubber-Band A.I.: After taking a four-hour penalty in the first leg, they were able to catch up right away thanks to an arranged flight in the second leg, which had reserved spots on two flights to London.
• Second Place Is for Losers: In their intro video, Scott said that second place is the first loser.
• Would Hit a Girl: Scott had no problem shoving Lisa during the scramble to get a cab to the first Pit Stop.

Dennis Hour & Isabelle Du

Dating, they came into the season having extensively studied up on the history on the Race. A mediocre first leg put them on the second flight to London, though they still managed to complete the Detour and get on the train to Westminster ahead of two other teams. However, they struggled with the current during the punting task, dropping them to last, and eliminating them in 10th place.

• Alternate Universe: Mentioned by Isabelle during their Elimination Statement. She said she felt there was a universe out there where they did win the Race.
• Crazy-Prepared: Not only did they watch every season, they studied the blogs of every winner, combed through forums, and Isabelle even created a fake course for Dennis to run and filmed him doing it.
• A Death in the Limelight: Subverted. The second episode looked like it was setting up Shelley & Nici to be eliminated, including showing old photos of both of them in the armed services, something that doesn't happen much with the U.S. version outside of elimination episodes^note The Amazing Race Canada does this a lot, while Dennis & Isabelle got almost no airtime.
• I'm Not Here to Make Friends: Discussed and Averted. Isabelle said they weren't going to be that team, and Dennis said they were there to make a lot of best friends.
• Out of Focus: After having one of the show's better intro videos on the CBS website, they got almost no airtime in either of their legs. This was most likely due to all their bickering, which could be seen in the Deleted Scenes.
• Smooch of Victory: Dennis gave one to one of the spectators after the successfully completed the pancake race Detour ahead of Michael & Scott.

Lisa Thomson & Michelle Thomson

Realtor Sisters, they came in very confident in their abilities. After arriving in the U.S Virgin Islands, they managed to steal a spot on the fifth^note of six sea plane when Michelle grabbed the marker out of Michael's hand when he was trying to sign their names on the board. They were one of the teams to struggle at the treasure hunting Roadblock, and Lisa agreed to the four-hour penalty plan when Keith presented it, thinking they would be able to beat one of the other teams, namely Michael & Scott, in a footrace. Unfortunately, Scott shoved Lisa during the race to get a cab, mostly as a payback for what they did at the sign-up board, putting them in the last cab, and ultimately eliminating them in 11th place.

• Call-Back: When they read the first clue, telling them to go where the first season had ended, Lisa said they should go "ask the guy from the first season" (Frank Mesa), which all the teams then go do.
• Dumb Blonde: During the treasure hunting Roadblock, Lisa said that the sun rose in the west.
• Gave Up Too Soon: Lisa was digging in the wrong spot for her treasure chest by a few inches and gave up before even considering she might be a little off.
• Laser-Guided Karma: After stealing Michael & Scott's spot on the fifth sea plane, Michael & Scott shoved Lisa out of the way to get a cab to the Pit Stop.
• Moral Myopia: Lisa whined about being shoved out of the taxi upon their elimination despite Michelle stealing the pen out of Michael's hand to sign up for the sea planes.
• Ms. Fanservice: Particularly blatant with the way Lisa slithered through the sand during the Roadblock.
• No Sense of Direction: Lisa thought that the sun rose in the west.
• Pixellation: On Lisa's crotch during the Roadblock.
• Sibling Team
• Victoria's Secret Compartment: During the treasure chest Roadblock, Lisa kept her liquid compass in between her breasts.

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