The Amazing Race 17
Encyclopedia
The Amazing Race 17 is the seventeenth installment of the reality television show The Amazing Race
The Amazing Race (U.S. TV series)
The Amazing Race is an American reality game show in which teams of two or four race around the world against other teams, with the first-place team winning $1,000,000. As the original version of the Amazing Race franchise, the CBS program has been running since 2001 and is airing its nineteenth...

. The Amazing Race 17 features 11 teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, in a race around the world.

The seventeenth cycle started on Sunday, September 26, 2010. It aired on CBS in the United States on a special 90-minute episode; and then it returned to its normal hour-long format the following week on Sunday nights at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT with the season finale on December 12, 2010. The show is again hosted by Phil Keoghan
Phil Keoghan
Philip John "Phil" Keoghan is a New Zealand-born television personality, best known for hosting the U.S. version of The Amazing Race on CBS, since its 2001 debut. He is also the creator and host of No Opportunity Wasted, which has been produced in the United States, New Zealand, and Canada...

.

This was the final season filmed and broadcast in Standard Definition.

Anesthesiologist
Anesthesiologist
An anesthesiologist or anaesthetist is a physician trained in anesthesia and peri-operative medicine....

s Natalie "Nat" Strand and Katherine "Kat" Chang were the winners of the race, and are the first all-female team to win the American edition of the competition.

Development and filming

CBS renewed the 17th edition of The Amazing Race on January 25, 2010. The season premiered on September 26, 2010 with a special 90-minute episode; it returned to its regular hour-long format the following week.

This season spanned 32000 miles (51,498.9 km) while racing across four continents, with first-time visits to Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

 and Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

, and for the first time in the show's history, teams crossed the Arctic Circle
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....

.

Filming began on May 26, 2010, with the starting line at the Eastern Point Yacht Club in Gloucester
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Gloucester is a city on Cape Ann in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is part of Massachusetts' North Shore. The population was 28,789 at the 2010 U.S. Census...

, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

, making this the first season since The Amazing Race All-Stars
The Amazing Race 11
The Amazing Race 11 is the 11th installment of the reality television show The Amazing Race...

to start in a city other than Los Angeles and ended on June 15, 2010 with the finish line at Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, California.

Prior to the Races broadcast, CBS posted a short preview video clip from an episode on the Internet, showing Brook and Claire competing at a watermelon launching challenge using an elastic slingshot. The clip showed Claire, working the slingshot, being hit in the face full-on with a watermelon after it failed to launch correctly, leaving her momentarily stunned but otherwise not seriously injured. The clip spread on the internet virally
Viral video
A viral video is one that becomes popular through the process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites, social media and email...

.

Phil Keoghan began both the season and the video background segments of the contestants while standing on the grass mall of Castle Hill in Ipswich, Massachusetts
Ipswich, Massachusetts
Ipswich is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,987 at the 2000 census. Home to Willowdale State Forest and Sandy Point State Reservation, Ipswich includes the southern part of Plum Island...

.

Two new game elements were introduced in this season. The first is the Express Pass, awarded to the team who finished first on the first Leg. This item would allow the team to skip any Detour, Roadblock, or Route Marker task before Leg 8. Dating couple Jill and Thomas won the Express Pass, which they later used to bypass the Beds Detour on Leg 4. Another new element is the Double U-Turn, where two teams are allowed to use U-Turns in a single race leg.

During the Leg 3 Pit Stop in Ghana, teams helped renovate the school that they visited during the leg.

Cast

Applications were due on February 4, 2010. Semi-finalist interviews were held sometime in March 2010 and the final casting interviews took place in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 around March 2010. From there, 11 teams were selected as contestants and filming took place around May to June 2010.

The cast included a team of home shopping hosts, Internet entertainer Kevin Wu – popularly known as "KevJumba" – and his father Michael; Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...

 a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...

 singers; and a birth mother and daughter who recently reunited following an adoption over 20 years earlier. This was the first season ever without a married couple. There were 3 beauty queens competing: Mallory Ervin
Mallory Ervin
Mallory Christina Ervin held the title of Miss Kentucky 2009 and was 4th runner-up to Miss America 2010. In September 2010, it was announced that she competed on The Amazing Race 17 with her father Gary Ervin. The Amazing Race was filmed in May and June 2010 and premiered on September 26, 2010...

, who competed in Miss America 2010
Miss America 2010
Miss America 2010, the 89th Miss America pageant, was held at the Theatre for the Performing Arts in Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on January 30, 2010...

, where she placed fourth runner-up; Brook Roberts
Brook Roberts
Brook Roberts held the title of Miss Oregon 2004 and competed in the Miss America 2005 pageant. From 2006 to its closure in 2010, she was a host on Gems TV. In September 2010, it was announced that she competed on The Amazing Race 17 with her co-worker Claire Champlin...

, who competed in Miss America 2005
Miss America 2005
Miss America 2005, the 84th Miss America, pageant, was held in Atlantic City on September 18, 2004 following a week of events including the preliminary competition.The pageant was broadcast live on ABC from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City...

; and Stephanie Smith, who was Miss South Carolina USA
Miss South Carolina USA
The Miss South Carolina USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state South Carolina in the Miss USA pageant. The pageant has been produced by RPM Productions since 1980....

 2009.

Chad Waltrip proposed to Stephanie Smith during the course of the race; they were married on November 20, 2010.

Gary & Mallory raced again in The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business
The Amazing Race 18
The Amazing Race 18 is the eighteenth installment of the reality television show The Amazing Race. The Amazing Race 18 features eleven teams of two – each returning from a previous edition – in a race around the world for a $1 million prize.The eighteenth cycle started on Sunday,...

among a cast of returning teams from seasons 12–17 where they survived a non-elimination leg in Vienna, Austria and finished the race in 3rd place.

Results

The following teams participated in the Race, with their relationships at the time of filming. Note this table does not necessarily reflect all content broadcast on television due to inclusion or exclusion of some data. Placements are listed in finishing order.
Team Relationship Position (by leg) Roadblocks
performed
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Nat & Kat Doctor
Anesthesiologist
An anesthesiologist or anaesthetist is a physician trained in anesthesia and peri-operative medicine....

s
2nd 7th 8th 1st 1st 4th 1st 5th 3rd 1st 3rd 1st Nat 6, Kat 5
Brook
Brook Roberts
Brook Roberts held the title of Miss Oregon 2004 and competed in the Miss America 2005 pageant. From 2006 to its closure in 2010, she was a host on Gems TV. In September 2010, it was announced that she competed on The Amazing Race 17 with her co-worker Claire Champlin...

 & Claire
Home Shopping
Home shopping
Home shopping commonly refers to the electronic retailing/home shopping channels industry, which includes such billion dollar television-based and e-commerce companies as HSN, QVC, eBay, ShopNBC, Buy.com, and Amazon.com, as well as traditional mail order and brick and mortar retailers as Hammacher...

 Hosts
4th 1st 6th 3rd 5th 2nd 2nd 4th 4th 3rd 2nd 2nd Brook 7, Claire 5
Jill & Thomas Dating 1st 5th 7th 5th 3rd 1st 5th 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 3rd Jill 5, Thomas 7
Nick & Vicki Dating 10th 8th 5th 6th 6th 3rd 3rd 2nd Nick 6, Vicki 4
Chad & Stephanie
Stephanie Murray Smith
-External links:*...

Dating→Engaged 8th 4th 3rd 7th 7th 5th 6th 1st Chad 5, Stephanie 4
Gary & Mallory
Mallory Ervin
Mallory Christina Ervin held the title of Miss Kentucky 2009 and was 4th runner-up to Miss America 2010. In September 2010, it was announced that she competed on The Amazing Race 17 with her father Gary Ervin. The Amazing Race was filmed in May and June 2010 and premiered on September 26, 2010...

Father/Daughter 6th 9th 2nd 2nd 2nd 6th 4th Gary 4, Mallory 4
Michael & Kevin Father/Son 7th 3rd 4th 4th 3rd Michael 3, Kevin 4
Katie & Rachel Beach Volleyball
Beach volleyball
Beach volleyball, or sand volleyball, is an Olympic team sport played by two teams of two players on a sand court divided by a net.Like volleyball, the object of the game is to send the ball over the net in order to ground it on the opponent’s court, and to prevent the same effort by the opponent....

 Partners
5th 2nd 4th 8th Katie 3, Rachel 2
3rd 6th 1st
Andie & Jenna Birth Mom/Daughter 9th Andie 0, Jenna 2
Ron & Tony Best Friends Ron 1, Tony 0

  • A team placement means the team was eliminated.
  • A indicates that the team won a Fast Forward.
  • A indicates that the team decided to use the Express Pass on that leg.
  • An team's placement indicates that the team came in last on a non-elimination leg & had to perform a Speed Bump in the next leg of the race whereas an placement signifies that there was no Speed Bump on the next Leg (see note 3)
  • A or a indicates that the team chose to use one of the two U-Turns in a Double U-Turn; or indicates the team who received it.


  1. While neither Ron nor Tony was shown performing the Roadblock in Leg 1, the official website lists Ron as the team member who completed the task.
  2. Jill & Thomas elected to use the Express Pass to bypass the Detour in Leg 4.
  3. While Nick & Vicki came in last in a non-elimination leg, they did not face a Speed Bump in the following leg. Post-race interviews revealed that the Speed Bump was waived, and that everyone's placement in that leg was equalized at the Detour, in compensation for various production difficulties in the previous leg affecting all of the teams. One of the problems involved the judge at the Classical Music Detour who made erroneous calls causing teams (Nick & Vicki in particular) to spend more time at the task than they needed to.
  4. Brook and Claire took a taxi to the Tower to the Church of the Savior on Blood. But when they found it the clue told them to walk, they asked their cab driver to go back to the Bank Bridge to 1 Vladimirsky Prospekt Tower and performed the task correctly. They checked in the mat in 2nd-place without Phil giving them a 30 minute penalty.
  5. Chad & Stephanie initially arrived 6th, but were not allowed to check in because they did not pay their taxi fare and had also left their bags in the taxi. In this time, Michael & Kevin arrived to check in, but had been issued multiple penalties. When they returned, Chad & Stephanie were told they had been issued a 30-minute penalty for taking a taxi from 1 Vladimirsky Prospekt Tower to the Church of the Savior on Blood, which was explicitly prohibited in the clue. However, because Michael & Kevin had a longer penalty, Chad & Stephanie were checked in for a 6th-place finish; their penalty was instead applied to their starting time in Leg 8. Meanwhile, Michael & Kevin arrived at the Pit Stop in 6th while Chad & Stephanie were turned away. However, they were issued two 30-minute penalties: one for hiring a taxi to lead them from Bank Bridge to 1 Vladimirsky Prospekt Tower and the other for taking a taxi from the Tower to the Church of the Savior on Blood. While they sat out their penalty, Chad & Stephanie returned and were allowed to check in, resulting in Michael & Kevin being eliminated.
  6. Chad & Stephanie left the Pit Stop in Saint Petersburg over 2 hours late because they accidentally overslept. This did not affect their overall placement in Leg 8 since they were the last to depart. During Leg 8, Chad proposed to Stephanie, who accepted. Their relationship title was changed from "Newly Dating" to "Engaged".
  7. Jill & Thomas initially arrived 1st, but were issued a 30-minute penalty for paying a taxi driver to lead them to the Pit Stop, which was explicitly prohibited in the clue. Chad & Stephanie checked in for a 1st-place finish during their penalty, dropping Jill & Thomas to 2nd.
  8. Nick & Vicki elected to forfeit the Detour because they were too exhausted to continue. They arrived at the Pit Stop last, but were notified that it was a non-elimination leg. The 6-hour penalty they would have taken from the Detour was instead applied to their starting time in Leg 11.
  9. Brook & Claire initially arrived 1st, but were issued a 30-minute penalty for taking a taxi to their Detour location when the clue instructed teams to travel either on foot or take the subway
    Seoul Metropolitan Subway
    The Seoul Metropolitan Subway or Metropolitan Subway in Seoul, in Seoul, South Korea, is one of the most heavily used rapid transit systems in the world, with well over 8 million trips daily on the system's thirteen lines...

    . Jill & Thomas checked in for a 1st-place finish during their penalty, dropping Brook & Claire to 2nd.
  10. Nick & Vicki's departure time was not shown in Leg 11, because they departed 6 hours later and were way behind Brook & Claire's departure, which was at 5:26 pm, due to the penalty applied to their starting time in that leg (see note 8). Also, by the time they made it to the Seung-il Bridge in Cheorwon, all the other teams had already checked in at the Pit Stop and it had become too dark for them to safely perform some of the tasks. During the broadcast of the leg, they were only shown performing the Speed Bump and then immediately checking in at the Pit Stop to be eliminated. In interviews after the episode was broadcast, they revealed that they did the Detour as well.


Episode title quotes

Episode titles are often taken from quotes made by the racers.
  1. "They Don't Call It The Amazing Race For Nothin!" – Brook
  2. "A Kiss Saves the Day" – Brook
  3. "In Phil We Trust" – Connor
  4. "We Should Have Brought Gloves and Butt Pads" – Kevin
  5. "Tastes Like a Million Dollars" – Kat
  6. "Run, Babushka, Run" – Kat
  7. "I Want to Be in the Circus, That's Where I Belong" – Brook
  8. "Ali Baba
    Ali Baba
    Ali Baba is a fictional character from medieval Arabic literature. He is described in the adventure tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves...

     in a Suit" – Nick
  9. "There's a Lot of Nuts and Bullets" – Jill
  10. "I Hate Chinese Food" – Vicki
  11. "I'm Surrounded by Ninjas" – Brook
  12. "Hi. I'm Sorry. I'm in a Race" – Nat

Prizes

The prize for each leg is awarded to the first place team for that leg. All trips are sponsored by Travelocity.
  • Leg 1 – The Express Pass – an item that can be used on the race to skip any one task of the team's choosing up until Leg 8.
  • Leg 2 – A trip for two to Hawaii
    Hawaii
    Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

    .
  • Leg 3 – $5,000 for each team member.
  • Leg 4 – A trip for two to Belize
    Belize
    Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...

    .
  • Leg 5 – A trip for two to Costa Rica
    Costa Rica
    Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....

    .
  • Leg 6 – A trip for two to São Paulo
    São Paulo
    São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

    , Brazil
    Brazil
    Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

    .
  • Leg 7 – $5,000 for each team member.
  • Leg 8 – A trip for two to Belize
    Belize
    Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...

    .
  • Leg 9 – $15,000 Discover
    Discover Card
    The Discover Card is a major credit card, issued primarily in the United States. It was originally introduced by Sears in 1985, and was part of Dean Witter, and then Morgan Stanley, until 2007, when Discover Financial Services became an independent company. Novus, a major processing center, used to...

     gift card.
  • Leg 10 – A trip for two to Rio de Janeiro
    Rio de Janeiro
    Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

    , Brazil.
  • Leg 11 – A trip for two to Iguazu Falls
    Iguazu Falls
    Iguazu Falls, Iguassu Falls, or Iguaçu Falls are waterfalls of the Iguazu River located on the border of the Brazilian State of Paraná and the Argentine Province of Misiones. The falls divide the river into the upper and lower Iguazu. The Iguazu River originates near the city of Curitiba. It flows...

    , Argentina
    Argentina
    Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

    .
  • Leg 12 – $1,000,000

Elimination Station

After elimination, the first five eliminated teams were sequestered at a villa in Cancun
Cancún
Cancún is a city of international tourism development certified by the UNWTO . Located on the northeast coast of Quintana Roo in southern Mexico, more than 1,700 km from Mexico City, the Project began operations in 1974 as Integrally Planned Center, a pioneer of FONATUR Cancún is a city of...

, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, to await the finale. CBS posted short videos on its website after each episode aired in the Pacific Time Zone
Pacific Time Zone
The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States...

 to show the eliminated teams interacting at the villa.
  • After Leg 1, Ron & Tony were the first team eliminated and were sent to the villa. They expressed their disappointment in being the first eliminated team, but decided to make the most of their situation. After they settled into the villa, they decided to go kayaking, remarking how much easier it was compared to the coracle
    Coracle
    The coracle is a small, lightweight boat of the sort traditionally used in Wales but also in parts of Western and South Western England, Ireland , and Scotland ; the word is also used of similar boats found in India, Vietnam, Iraq and Tibet...

     that they unsuccessfully manned during the race. Afterward, Ron and Tony sat by the pool and tried to predict who would be the first to join them in the villa; they agreed that it could be anyone.
  • After Leg 2, Andie & Jenna were the second team eliminated and were sent to the villa. Ron and Tony welcomed them, glad to finally have another team in the villa to keep them company. Andie and Jenna revealed that they had only recently met, which shocked and moved both Ron and Tony. Andie and Jenna talked at length about their relationship over dinner with Ron and Tony, with Andie revealing the circumstances surrounding Jenna's adoption, and that she has 10 other children.
  • Leg 3 was a non-elimination leg; hence, no new teams were sent to the villa. Ron and Tony gave Andie and Jenna salsa dancing
    Salsa (dance)
    Salsa is a syncretic dance form with origins in Cuba as the meeting point of Spanish and African cultures.Salsa is normally a partner dance, although there are recognized solo forms such as solo dancing "suelta" and "Rueda de Casino" where multiple couples exchange partners in a circle...

     lessons. Afterward, Andie and Jenna sat by the pool and discussed their relationship.
  • After Leg 4, Connor & Jonathan were the third team eliminated and were sent to the villa. Prior to their arrival, Ron, Tony, Andie, and Jenna went on a whale shark
    Whale shark
    The whale shark, Rhincodon typus, is a slow-moving filter feeding shark, the largest extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of and a weight of more than , but unconfirmed claims report considerably larger whale sharks...

     watching excursion, but after Andie and Jenna became seasick from the rough waves, everyone returned to the villa without seeing any. Later, Connor and Jonathan arrived and shared the song they sang for Phil when they were eliminated. Connor and Jonathan then recounted what happened on their last leg, claiming that the remaining teams were starting to become more cutthroat – news which disappointed Andie and Jenna.
  • After Leg 5, Katie & Rachel were the fourth team eliminated and were sent to the villa. Before their arrival, the three eliminated teams went to Kings Bath, where legend holds that the King bathed his children. Afterward, the three teams speculated on who would show up next, wanting another "fun" team to join them in the villa. Katie and Rachel arrived and immediately expressed how angry and disappointed they were to be eliminated, ignoring the other eliminated teams' attempts to console them. This irritated Ron and Tony, who claimed that Katie and Rachel's bitter attitudes were bringing a negative energy to the house. Later, Katie and Rachel admitted that they did enter the villa in a foul mood, but did not regret anything they had said, further bemoaning the fact that they were knocked out of the race.
  • Leg 6 was a non-elimination leg; hence, no new teams were sent to the villa. The group played a game of water volleyball
    Water Volleyball
    Water Volleyball is a game played by many around the world. It is played in countries with a temperate or tropical climate and sometimes cold climates. Water Volleyball is both an individual and team sport...

     together in the villa's pool. Afterward, they went to the beach. Katie and Rachel, still bitter about being eliminated, said that they did not want one of the remaining all-female teams to win the race, since Katie and Rachel wanted to be the first all-female winners.
  • After Leg 7, Michael & Kevin were the fifth team eliminated and were sent to the villa. After the other teams went snorkeling
    Snorkeling
    Snorkeling is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters, a wetsuit may also be worn...

     during the day, Katie and Rachel continued to state that they wanted an all-female team (specifically Brook and Claire) to be eliminated next, as they still were upset that they personally would not be the first all-female team to win; the two girls were disappointed when they saw Michael and Kevin arrive. Kevin stated his disappointment at their elimination due to their hour-long penalty, while Michael joked that he was glad to finally be done with the stresses of racing. While alone, Kevin continued to say he wished they had not been eliminated so they could have potentially gone to Asia (specifically China) and have an advantage, but Michael told him not to dwell on it. The next day, the eliminated teams visited Punta Sur
    Punta Sur
    Punta Sur marks the southern point of Cozumel and is part of the Parque Punta Sur, a ecological park that covers the reefs, beaches, lagoons, and the low forest of the surrounding area...

    , where Katie and Rachel spoke with Michael and Kevin about their elimination. Michael told them that they should not dwell on their loss, and that it should be an experience that will help them by teaching them how to accept even the biggest disappointments in life.
  • After Leg 8, Gary & Mallory were the sixth team eliminated. The teams gathered around a phone, waiting for a call to see who was eliminated. Before the call, Jenna stated that she and Rachel had dreams the previous night that either Gary and Mallory or Brook and Claire were eliminated. Katie and Rachel stated, again, that they wanted Brook and Claire to be eliminated. Everyone was surprised when Gary and Mallory called, and told the teams that it was the hardest leg ever, and that they traveled for 16 hours and ended up losing to Nat and Kat with minutes to spare. After the call, the teams continued to comment on Katie and Rachel's obsession that an all-female team should not win the race this season. The next day, the eliminated teams went down to the docks to pick up an amberjack
    Amberjack
    Amberjack refers to 3 species of Atlantic fish of the Carangidae family , which includes the jacks and the pompanos.Greater amberjacks, Seriola dumerili, are the largest of the jacks. They usually have dark stripes extending from nose to in front of their dorsal fins...

     and then cook it in the traditional Mayan Tikin Xic
    Tikin Xic
    Tikin Xic, pronounced "teekeen sheek" in Yucatec Mayan and meaning "dry fish", is a fish dish prepared in the Meso-American style. The fish is prepared whole then marinated with adobo de Achiote and sour oranges then wrapped in a banana leaf and cooked in an earth oven beneath a wood fire.-...

     style. Once the food was prepared, Andie told everyone that it reminded her of home and being with family, and that the eliminated teams were her substitute family, and Connor joked that she was their substitute birth mom. Later, Ron and Tony spoke with Andie on her relationship with Jenna, and Andie said that whatever Jenna wanted to do from this point on was fine with her.
  • After Leg 9, Chad & Stephanie were the seventh team eliminated. Connor and Jonathan spoke about how they feel that the fact that they did not attend their graduation at Princeton
    Princeton University
    Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

     makes it better that they did not have the transition from college student into adulthood. Later, the eliminated teams went to a restaurant named Alux
    Alux
    An alux is the name given to a type of sprite or spirit in the mythological tradition of certain Maya peoples from the Yucatán Peninsula and Guatemala. Aluxob are conceived of as being small, only about knee-high, and in appearance resembling miniature traditionally dressed Maya people...

    , built in a cenote
    Cenote
    A cenote is a deep natural pit, or sinkhole, characteristic of Mexico and Central America, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater underneath...

    , and Jenna had everyone around the table say what they learned from their time on the Race.
  • Leg 10 was a non-elimination leg, but this Elimination Station featured eliminated teams waiting for the phone call and Chad and Stephanie calling the villa after their elimination in Leg 9. They told the other eliminated teams how being U-Turned by Nat & Kat led to their elimination, and then shared the news about their engagement. Ron joked with them by asking if the elimination affected their engagement. The eliminated teams discussed who they wanted in the top 3, with Nat & Kat and Brook & Claire both mentioned, with jokes made towards Katie & Rachel's dislike that a girl-girl team might win and that it was not going to be them. Later, all the eliminated teams packed up and prepared for their flight to the final destination city. Michael finally admitted to Kevin that if he were more confident in himself, they might have been able to go farther in the Race. Andie and Jenna were glad that they would be returning home soon, and Jenna expressed how she felt about her relationship with her biological mother. As the eliminated teams left he villa, all of them speculated on what the final destination would be, with guesses ranging from somewhere in Arizona
    Arizona
    Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

     to Seattle to New York City
    New York City
    New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

    .
  • After Leg 11, Nick & Vicki were the eighth and final team eliminated. Elimination Station showed the five eliminated teams arriving at the End City in Los Angeles
    Los Ángeles
    Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

    , California
    California
    California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

    . After arriving in Los Angeles, the teams checked in to a hotel, settled into their rooms, and awaited the phone call from the eighth team eliminated. Ron commented that he and Tony are in their home city; Kevin commented that there would be a lot of interesting things to do in Los Angeles, while also saying to his father what it would be like if they were still racing; and Andie and Jenna discussed how their future relationship would develop. Later, the teams gathered to get the call from the field to learn that Nick & Vicki had been eliminated. Vicki mentions how she had gotten sick in the previous leg, and that coupled with a penalty contributed to their loss. Nick said that he believed that Jill & Thomas would win the race, as they had been coming in first lately, but Vicki said that she thinks Nat & Kat would win. The eliminated teams joked that Rachel would physically attack either Brook & Claire or Nat & Kat if they came across the finish line first, although Rachel said she was no longer upset that a girl-girl team could win this season.
  • Leg 12 was the final leg of The Amazing Race 17. Elimination Station showed the Finish Line that takes place in Greystone Mansion
    Greystone Mansion
    Greystone Mansion, also known as the Doheny Mansion, is a Tudor-style mansion on a landscaped estate with distinctive formal English gardens, located in Beverly Hills, California, United States. The architect Gordon Kaufmann designed the residence and ancillary structures, with construction...

    . Gary & Mallory, Chad & Stephanie, and Nick & Vicki reunited with the other eliminated teams. Andie asked to see Stephanie's engagement ring, and she told the others that they had gotten in first place that leg and won a trip to Belize for their honeymoon. Tony led the eliminated teams in a dance before waiting for the remaining teams to cross the finish line. All the eliminated teams were waiting to find out who they think will cross the Finish Line first and win the $1 million. When they find out that Nat & Kat crossed the finish line first and win the $1 million, everyone congratulated them on being the first all-female team to win the $1 million and the race. Rachel, although still upset that she and Katie were not that team, said she was still happy for their win. The teams then greeted Brook & Claire as they crossed the finish line in 2nd Place, with everyone noting that the top two teams were both women teams. When Jill & Thomas finally crossed the finish line in 3rd Place, Thomas conceded that even though he and Jill were top competitors, Nat & Kat and Brook & Claire were truly the top two teams. Teams expressed their opinions about the final three teams at the Finish Line along with their joys and disappointments about the race, and the learning experiences they could draw from it.

Race summary

Leg 1 (United States → England)

  • Gloucester
    Gloucester, Massachusetts
    Gloucester is a city on Cape Ann in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is part of Massachusetts' North Shore. The population was 28,789 at the 2010 U.S. Census...

    , Massachusetts
    Massachusetts
    The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

    , United States
    United States
    The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

      (Eastern Point Yacht Club) (Starting Line) Boston
    Boston
    Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

     (Logan International Airport
    Logan International Airport
    General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport is located in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts . It covers , has six runways, and employs an estimated 16,000 people. It is the 19th busiest airport in the United States.Boston serves as a focus city for JetBlue Airways...

    ) to London
    London
    London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

    , England
    England
    England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

     , United Kingdom
    United Kingdom
    The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

      (London Heathrow Airport
    London Heathrow Airport
    London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...

    )
  • Amesbury
    Amesbury
    Amesbury is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is most famous for the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge which is in its parish, and for the discovery of the Amesbury Archer—dubbed the King of Stonehenge in the press—in 2002...

    , Wiltshire
    Wiltshire
    Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

     (Stonehenge
    Stonehenge
    Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...

    )
  • Ledbury
    Ledbury
    Ledbury is a town in Herefordshire, England, lying east of Hereford, and south of the Malvern Hills.Today, Ledbury is a thriving market town in rural England. The town has a large number of timber framed buildings, in particular along Church Lane and High Street. One of Ledbury's most outstanding...

    , Herefordshire
    Herefordshire
    Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...

     (Eastnor Castle
    Eastnor Castle
    Eastnor Castle is a 19th century mock castle, two miles from the town of Ledbury in Herefordshire, England, by the village of Eastnor. It was founded by John Cocks, 1st Earl Somers as his stately home and continues to be inhabited by his descendents. Currently in residence is the family of...

    )


In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to travel on horseback
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...

 to a tournament area and use a giant slingshot
Slingshot
A slingshot, shanghai, flip, bean shooter or catapult is a small hand-powered projectile weapon. The classic form consists of a Y-shaped frame held in the off hand, with two rubber strips attached to the uprights. The other ends of the strips lead back to a pocket which holds the projectile...

 to launch a watermelon
Watermelon
Watermelon is a vine-like flowering plant originally from southern Africa. Its fruit, which is also called watermelon, is a special kind referred to by botanists as a pepo, a berry which has a thick rind and fleshy center...

 towards a suit of armor standing 50 feet (15.2 m) away. Once they knocked the armor over, the team had to find a court jester who would give them their next clue to search the Castle grounds for the Pit Stop.

Additional task
  • At Stonehenge, teams had to solve a riddle ("the opposite of Nor'easter
    Nor'easter
    A nor'easter is a type of macro-scale storm along the East Coast of the United States and Atlantic Canada, so named because the storm travels to the northeast from the south and the winds come from the northeast, especially in the coastal areas of the Northeastern United States and Atlantic Canada...

    ") to discover that their next route marker was Eastnor Castle.
  • At Eastnor Castle, teams had to climb a ladder on an exterior wall of the castle while peasant
    Peasant
    A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...

    s standing atop the wall taunted and poured dirty water on them. Once they climbed the wall, they had to retrieve a medieval flag and then use a coracle
    Coracle
    The coracle is a small, lightweight boat of the sort traditionally used in Wales but also in parts of Western and South Western England, Ireland , and Scotland ; the word is also used of similar boats found in India, Vietnam, Iraq and Tibet...

     to cross the castle's moat
    Moat
    A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...

     to bring the flag to a knight
    Knight
    A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

     in shining armor who would give the team the next clue.


Leg 2 (England → Ghana)

London (London Heathrow Airport) to Accra
Accra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...

, Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

  (Kotoka International Airport
Kotoka International Airport
Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana, is the country's premier international airport and has the capacity for large aircraft such as the Boeing 747-800...

)
  • Accra (Kwame Nkrumah
    Kwame Nkrumah
    Kwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana...

     Memorial Park)
  • Accra (Makola Market
    Makola Market
    Makola Market is a renowned market place and shopping district in the centre of the city of Accra, the capital of Ghana.The market, dominated by women traders, sells fresh produce, manufactured and imported foods, clothes, shoes, tools, medicines, and pots and pans...

    )
  • Accra (Teshie
    Teshie
    Teshie is a city in Ghana in the Greater Accra Region. Fort Augustaborg, built by the Danes in 1787, is located in Teshie and was occupied by the British from 1850 to 1957. The national Officer Cadet Training School and Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre are also located here...

     – Peace Motor Spare Parts)
  • Accra (Kaneshie Market)


In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to sell enough sunglasses to make GH₵
Ghanaian cedi
The Ghana Cedi is the unit of currency of Ghana. The word "cedi" is derived from the Akan word for cowry shell. The Ghana cedi was introduced on 3 July 2007 and is equal to 10,000 old cedis...

15 (approx. US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

10), while selling no single pair for less than GH₵3. In the leg's Detour, teams had a choice between Tune In or Check Out. In Tune In, teams had to travel to a nearby electronics store (named Adom Electronics) and pick up a television antenna
Television antenna
A television antenna, or TV aerial, is an antenna specifically designed for the reception of over the air broadcast television signals, which are transmitted at frequencies from about 41 to 250 MHz in the VHF band, and 470 to 960 MHz in the UHF band in different countries...

 setup, bring it to a marked house, and set it up to the customer's liking. If the television set picked up a proper signal, the house owner would give their next clue. In Check Out, teams had to bring a fantasy coffin from Emmanuel's Woodshop to a showroom across town to retrieve their next clue.

Leg 3 (Ghana)

  • Jamestown
    Jamestown, Ghana
    Located directly east of the Korle Lagoon, Jamestown and Usshertown are the oldest districts in the city of Accra, Ghana and emerged as communities around the 17th century British James Fort and Ussher Fort on the Gulf of Guinea coast...

     (Akotoku Boxing Academy)
  • Dodowa, Dodowa District
    Dangme West District
    The Dangme West District is a district of Ghana in the Greater Accra Region.-External links:*...

     (Supply Depot)
  • Dodowa, Dodowa District (Asebi D/A Primary School)
  • Doryumu, Dodowa District (Home of Awusa Ntso)


In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to perform a boxing workout; after first wrapping their hands properly, the team member had to punch a punching bag and then jump rope for 60 seconds each. Upon completion of the workout, their boxing trainer would give them their next clue. In this leg's Detour, teams chose between Bicycle Parts or Language Arts. In Bicycle Parts, both team members had to use a stick to roll a bicycle wheel's rim down the length of a soccer field
Association football pitch
An association football pitch is the playing surface for the game of association football made of turf. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play".All line markings on the pitch form part of the area which they define...

 and back (two passes), without touching it with their hands or letting it fall over. Once they completed their two passes, one of the school children would give them their next clue. In Language Arts, teams chose a proverb with eight phrases highlighted that correspond to a series of eight Adinkra symbols. Using a nearby decoder key, teams had to locate the eight symbols in a massive word search
Word search
A word search, word find, word seek, word sleuth or mystery word puzzle is a word game that is letters of a word in a grid, that usually has a rectangular or square shape. The objective of this puzzle is to find and mark all the words hidden inside the box. The words may be horizontally,...

-like puzzle. Once they circled the correct set of Adinkra symbols, one of the school children would give them their next clue.

Additional tasks
  • At the Supply Depot, teams had to load up two wheelbarrows with building supplies and deliver them to the Asebi D/A Primary School.
  • At the Asebi D/A Primary School, teams had to join a geography class studying a map of Africa. While the children located other nations in Africa, the teams had to correctly locate Ghana on the map in order to receive their next clue from the students.

Leg 4 (Ghana → Sweden)

Accra (Kotoka International Airport) to Kiruna
Kiruna
Kiruna is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in Lapland province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is the seat of Kiruna Municipality Kiruna (Northern Sami: Giron, Finnish: Kiiruna) is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in Lapland province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is...

, Lapland, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

  (Kiruna Airport
Kiruna Airport
Kiruna Airport is the northernmost airport in Sweden. The airport lies around ten kilometres from the town centre of Kiruna. In 2010 the airport served 199,708 passengers.-Future:Kiruna Airport is the chosen destination for the Spaceport Sweden project...

)
  • Jukkasjärvi
    Jukkasjärvi
    Jukkasjärvi is a locality situated in Kiruna Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden with 519 inhabitants in 2005. It is situated at 321 meters elevation....

     (Icehotel
    Icehotel (Jukkasjärvi)
    The Icehotel in the village of Jukkasjärvi, about 17 km from Kiruna, Sweden, was the world's first ice hotel. After its first opening in 1990, the hotel has been erected each year from December to April.-History:...

    )
  • Poikkijärvi  (Fjellborg's Lodge)
  • Riksgränsen
    Riksgränsen
    Riksgränsen, The National Border in Swedish, is a ski-resort in Kiruna Municipality, Lappland, Sweden, 200 km north of the Arctic Circle. The skiing season is from February to June...

     (Vassijaure Train Station )
  • Riksgränsen (Swedish–Norwegian
    Norway
    Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

     Border)


For this leg's Speed Bump, Michael and Kevin had to sit on chairs made of ice in the Icehotel for 10 minutes before they could take their next clue and continue racing. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to choose a sled dog
Sled dog
Sled dogs, known also as sleigh man dogs, sledge dogs, or sleddogs, are highly trained types of dogs that are used to pull a dog sled, a wheel-less vehicle on runners also called a sled or sleigh, over snow or ice, by means of harnesses and lines.Sled dogs have become a popular winter recreation...

 team and hitch them to a summer training sled. They then had to take the dogs on a course and collect five different flags along the course which they could then trade for fur pelts at the end, which they would bring back to camp for their next clue. If they miss a flag, they have to take a penalty lap for each missed flag. In this leg's Detour, teams chose between Sleds or Beds. In Sleds, teams had to use TechSleds to race down a mountain course in less than 1 minute and 58 seconds. If they failed to reach the end before the allotted time, they would have to repeat the run. In Beds, teams had build a traditional Sami
Sami people
The Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...

 dwelling known as a goahti
Goahti
A goahti is a Sami construction that can be similar to a Sami lavvu or a peat covered version using the same base structure. It is often constructed slightly larger than a lavvu...

, and then furnish the inside with furs and a fire pit. A Sami elder would give the team their next clue if the goathi was built and furnished to his or her liking.

Leg 5 (Sweden → Norway)

  • Narvik
    Narvik
    is the third largest city and municipality in Nordland county, Norway by population. Narvik is located on the shores of the Narvik Fjord . The municipality is part of the Ofoten traditional region of North Norway, inside the arctic circle...

    , Nordland
    Nordland
    is a county in Norway in the North Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Nord-Trøndelag in the south, Norrbottens län in Sweden to the east, Västerbottens län to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The county was formerly known as Nordlandene amt. The county administration is...

    , Norway
    Norway
    Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

      (Fagernesfjellet Mountain)
  • Narvik (Skjomen Bridge
    Skjomen Bridge
    Skjomen Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the fjord Skjomen near the town of Narvik in Nordland county, Norway. The bridge is 711 metres long, the main span is 525 metres, and the maximum clearance to the sea is 35 metres. The bridge has nine spans....

    )
  • Narvik (Harvika)
  • Narvik (Ankenes
    Ankenes
    Ankenes is a former municipality which now forms part of the municipality of Narvik in Nordland county, Norway. Ankenes is a largely residential area of Narvik, located on the southern side of Beisfjorden, a south arm of Ofotfjorden.-History:...

     Marina)


The only Fast Forward of the race required one team to go to the Stornaustet immersive restaurant in Vidrek
Vidrek
Vidrek is a small village in the municipality of Narvik, Norway. Its population is about 70.On 10 April 1940, in the First Naval Battle of Narvik, the British flagship HMS Hardy was beached in flames on Vidrek, and nearby 30 seamen were killed....

 and eat an entire serving of smalahove
Smalahove
Smalahove is a Western Norwegian traditional dish made from a sheep's head, originally eaten before Christmas. The name of the dish comes from the combination of the Norwegian words hove and smale. Hove is a dialectal form of hovud, meaning head, and smale is one word for sheep...

, a dish made of a boiled sheep's head, between the two of them. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to rappel
Abseiling
Abseiling , rappelling in American English, is the controlled descent down a rock face using a rope; climbers use this technique when a cliff or slope is too steep and/or dangerous to descend without protection.- Slang terms :...

 off the Skjomen Bridge and then signal for one of two waiting boats to give them their next clue. After retrieving the clue from the boat, the team member had to use a mechanical ascender to return to the bridge deck. In this leg's Detour, teams chose between Bike or Boat. In Bike, teams had to ride a bicycle along a course to a sign, where combinations of numbers and colors were shown. Teams then had to memorize the combination of the color that matched the color on their bike, return to the starting point, and then use the combination to unlock their next clue. In Boat, teams had to use a reference map to navigate a boat to a specific location. They then had to deliver two cod and a chainsaw to a summer lodge to receive their next clue.

Additional tasks
  • At Fagernesfjellet Mountain, teams had to ride the gondola to the top of the mountain to receive their next clue.

Leg 6 (Norway → Russia)

Narvik (Narvik Station
Narvik Station
Narvik is a railway station located in Narvik in Nordland, Norway on the Ofotbanen. The station is located 3.70 km from the line terminus at Narvik Port and is served by three daily passenger trains from, respectively, Kiruna, Luleå and Stockholm in Sweden. These passenger services are...

) to Uppsala
Uppsala
- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...

, Sweden (Uppsala Central Station
Uppsala Central Station
Uppsala Central Station is a railway station located at Uppsala in Uppsala Municipality, Sweden. It lies on Ostkustbanan , which runs south to Stockholm and north to Gävle and Sundsvall and it is one of the termini for Dalabanan which runs northwest ending in Mora...

) Stockholm (Stockholm-Arlanda Airport) to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

  (Pulkovo Airport
Pulkovo Airport
Pulkovo Airport is an international airport serving Saint Petersburg, Russia. It consists of two terminals, Pulkovo-1 and Pulkovo-2 , which are located about and south of the city centre, respectively. The airport serves as a hub for Rossiya Airlines , and as focus city for Nordavia...

)
  • Saint Petersburg (Vasilievsky Island
    Vasilievsky Island
    Vasilyevsky Island is an island in Saint Petersburg, Russia, bordered by the rivers Bolshaya Neva and Malaya Neva in the south and northeast, and by the Gulf of Finland in the west. Vasilyevsky Island is separated from Dekabristov Island by the Smolenka River...

     – Rostral Columns)
  • Saint Petersburg (Palace Square
    Palace Square
    Palace Square , connecting Nevsky Prospekt with Palace Bridge leading to Vasilievsky Island, is the central city square of St Petersburg and of the former Russian Empire...

    )
  • Saint Petersburg (Alexandrovskaya
    Alexandrovskaya, Saint Petersburg
    Alexandrovskaya , is a railway station existing near to St. Petersburg, Russia.Station has been opened on 1894 November, 26st, 1894 when Primorskaya line has been prolonged from station Razdelnaya to Sestroretsk....

     – Neighborhood Store)
  • Saint Petersburg (Saint Isaac's Cathedral
    Saint Isaac's Cathedral
    Saint Isaac's Cathedral or Isaakievskiy Sobor in Saint Petersburg, Russia is the largest Russian Orthodox cathedral in the city...

    )


In this leg's Detour, teams chose between Classical Music and Classic Cinema. In Classical Music, teams traveled to Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace
Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace
Belosselsky-Belozersky Palace is a Neo-Baroque palace at the intersection of the Fontanka River and Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, Russia...

 and listened to three different compositions (Mussorgsky
Modest Mussorgsky
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky was a Russian composer, one of the group known as 'The Five'. He was an innovator of Russian music in the romantic period...

's Pictures at an Exhibition
Pictures at an Exhibition
Pictures at an Exhibition is a suite in ten movements composed for piano by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky in 1874.The suite is Mussorgsky's most famous piano composition, and has become a showpiece for virtuoso pianists...

, Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...

's Scheherazade
Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov)
Sheherazade , Op. 35, is a symphonic suite composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1888. Based on One Thousand and One Nights, sometimes known as The Arabian Nights, this orchestral work combines two features common to Russian music and of Rimsky-Korsakov in particular: dazzling, colourful...

, and Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...

's Troika) playing on three numbered gramaphones. They then entered a music hall full of pianists playing several different compositions and had to take a copy of the sheet music from the pianists playing each of the three compositions. Teams would receive their next clue from the maestro
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...

 after putting the correct compositions in the correct order. In Classic Cinema, teams traveled to Lenfilm
Lenfilm
Kinostudiya "Lenfilm" is a production unit of the Russian film industry, with its own film studio, located in Saint Petersburg, Russia, formerly Leningrad, R.S.F.S.R. Today OAO "Kinostudiya Lenfilm" is a corporation with its stakes shared between private owners, and several private film studios,...

 and searched through several hundred filmstrips until they found one matching the film playing in the theater (Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein , né Eizenshtein, was a pioneering Soviet Russian film director and film theorist, often considered to be the "Father of Montage"...

's October). When they showed the correct filmstrip to the projectionist
Projectionist
A Projectionist is a person who operates a movie projector. In the strict sense of the term this means any movie projector and therefore could include someone who operates the projector in a home video show or school. In common usage the term is generally understood to describe a paid employee of...

, he would give the teams their next clue. In the Roadblock, one team member had to dress up like a babushka, pick up a sack of 50 potatoes, and fill a wheelbarrow with cow manure
Manure
Manure is organic matter used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Manures contribute to the fertility of the soil by adding organic matter and nutrients, such as nitrogen, that are trapped by bacteria in the soil...

. A babushka would then show them how to properly plant the potatoes, and she would give them their next clue once the planting was completed.

Additional task
  • Upon completing the Detour, teams received either a record (from Classical Music) or a film canister (from Classic Cinema) that featured a photo of their next route marker: Palace Square.

Leg 7 (Russia)

  • Saint Petersburg (Avtovo
    Avtovo (Saint Petersburg Metro)
    Avtovo is a station on the Kirovsko-Vyborgskaya Line of the Saint Petersburg Metro. It was designed by architect Ye.A. Levinson and opened as part of the first Metro line on November 15, 1955....

     Circus)
  • Saint Petersburg (Bank Bridge
    Bank Bridge
    Bank Bridge is a 25-m-long pedestrian bridge crossing the Griboedov Canal near the former Assignation Bank in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Like other bridges across the canal, the existing structure dates from 1826. The bridge engineer was Wilhelm von Traitteur, who conceived of a pedestrian...

    )
  • Saint Petersburg (1 Vladimirsky Prospekt Tower)
  • Saint Petersburg (Church of the Savior on Blood
    Church of the Savior on Blood
    The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood Khram Spasa na Krovi is one of the main sights of St. Petersburg, Russia. It is also variously called the Church on Spilt Blood and the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ , its official name....

    )
  • Saint Petersburg (Peter and Paul Fortress
    Peter and Paul Fortress
    The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706-1740.-History:...

     – Gorodki
    Gorodki
    Gorodki is an ancient Russian folk sport whose popularity has spread to Karelia, Finland, Sweden, Ingria, Lithuania, and Estonia. Similar in concept to bowling and also somewhat to horseshoes, the aim of the game is to knock out groups of skittles arranged in various patterns by throwing a bat at...

     Courts)
  • Saint Petersburg (Peter and Paul Fortress – Naryshkin Bastion)


In this leg's Detour, teams chose between Circus Band and Circus Clown. In Circus Band, the team members had to learn a Russian folk song (Ivan Larionov
Ivan Larionov
Ivan Petrovich Larionov was a Russian composer, writer and folklorist. He is mostly remembered for the famous song "Kalinka", that he wrote in 1860....

's Kalinka) for the accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....

. Once they played the song correctly, the band leader would give them their next clue. In Circus Clown, teams had to learn plate spinning
Plate spinning
Plate spinning is a circus manipulation art where a person spins plates, bowls and other flat objects on poles, without them falling off. Plate spinning relies on the gyroscopic effect, in the same way a top stays upright while spinning...

 and get 10 plates to spin without falling to receive their clue from a clown
Clown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...

. In this leg's Roadblock, the teams had to clear three gorodki
Gorodki
Gorodki is an ancient Russian folk sport whose popularity has spread to Karelia, Finland, Sweden, Ingria, Lithuania, and Estonia. Similar in concept to bowling and also somewhat to horseshoes, the aim of the game is to knock out groups of skittles arranged in various patterns by throwing a bat at...

 pin formations before the pins get reset, to receive their next clue that told them to head inside the Fortress for the Pit Stop.

Additional tasks
  • After receiving the clue from the Detour, teams began a "Russian mystery" task. The first clue was to find the canal bridge guarded by four creatures with golden wings: Bank Bridge.
  • At Bank Bridge, the next clue told teams to head on foot (without their taxi leading them) to 1 Vladimirsky Prospekt's Tower. At the top of the tower, only two team members at a time would be allowed to look around for a clue to their next location: a figurine of the Church of the Savior on Blood. After locating the Church in the skyline, teams then had to walk to the Church for their next clue.
  • After arriving at the Church of the Savior on Blood, teams were told to find the burial site of Peter the Great: Peter and Paul Fortress.

Leg 8 (Russia → Oman)

Saint Petersburg (Pulkovo Airport) to Muscat
Muscat, Oman
Muscat is the capital of Oman. It is also the seat of government and largest city in the Governorate of Muscat. As of 2008, the population of the Muscat metropolitan area was 1,090,797. The metropolitan area spans approximately and includes six provinces called wilayats...

, Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...

  (Muscat International Airport)
  • Muscat (Riyam Park – Burj Al Mubkharah)
  • Al Hamra
    Al Hamra
    Al Hamra is a 400-year-old town in the region Ad Dakhiliyah, in northeastern Oman. It is home to the mountainside village of Misfat Al Abryeen. Ghul lies to the west of the town....

     (Jebel Shams
    Jebel Shams
    Jebel Shams , is a mountain located in northeastern Oman north of Al Hamra town. It is the highest mountain of the country and part of Al Hajar Mountains range. It is a popular sightseeing area located 240 km from Muscat...

    )
  • Nizwa
    Nizwa
    -Attractions:The main tourist attractions in the city are Nizwa Fort, the traditional Souq and Falaj Daris. In the 1990s, the Jama, the fort and the souq which sit next to each other in the centre were renovated using the same traditional materials...

     (Stack of Books)
  • Muttrah (Muttrah Souq)
  • Muscat (Al Alam Palace
    Al Alam Palace
    The Al Alam Palace is the ceremonial palace of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos of Oman.-Overview:The palace was built in 1972. It has a facade of gold and blue...

    )


In this leg's Roadblock, one team member rappelled 500 feet (152.4 m) down the side of Jebel Shams to a field of hundreds of oil lamp
Oil lamp
An oil lamp is an object used to produce light continuously for a period of time using an oil-based fuel source. The use of oil lamps began thousands of years ago and is continued to this day....

s, a handful of which held Aladdin
Aladdin
Aladdin is a Middle Eastern folk tale. It is one of the tales in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights , and one of the most famous, although it was actually added to the collection by Antoine Galland ....

's magic ring
Magic ring
A magic ring is a ring, usually a finger ring, that has magical properties. It appears frequently in fantasy and fairy tales. Magic rings are found in the folklore of every country where rings are worn, and they endow the wearer with a variety of abilities, including invisibility, the granting of...

. Once they found a lamp with the ring, they had to turn it in for their next clue. In this leg's Detour, teams chose between Water Table and Wedding Table. In Water Table, teams pumped water from a well into a water truck and then drove back into town to deliver the water to their assigned house in the neighborhood of Aswat Al Eid. After delivering the water, the customer gave them their next clue. In Wedding Table, teams traveled to an Arab market and purchased 25 chickens and several other ingredients needed to serve the traditional Omani dish maqbous. Once the dish was complete, they gave the maqbous to a bride and groom who gave them their next clue.

Additional tasks
  • At Burj Al Mubkharah, teams were given small silver ingot
    Ingot
    An ingot is a material, usually metal, that is cast into a shape suitable for further processing. Non-metallic and semiconductor materials prepared in bulk form may also be referred to as ingots, particularly when cast by mold based methods.-Uses:...

    s with a time stamped on it. This time would be when they would be allowed to climb the fort's watchtower to receive their next clue.
  • At Muttrah Souq, teams had to find the frankincense
    Frankincense
    Frankincense, also called olibanum , is an aromatic resin obtained from trees of the genus Boswellia, particularly Boswellia sacra, B. carteri, B. thurifera, B. frereana, and B. bhaw-dajiana...

     vendor, then had to search the marketplace for "Ali Baba
    Ali Baba
    Ali Baba is a fictional character from medieval Arabic literature. He is described in the adventure tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves...

    " to trade the frankincense for their next clue.

Leg 9 (Oman → Bangladesh)

Muscat (Muscat International Airport) to Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...

, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

  (Shahjalal International Airport)
  • Dhaka (Sundarban Square Supermarket)
  • Dhaka (Sadarghat
    Sadarghat
    Sadarghat River Front, located in the southern part of Dhaka, on the river Buriganga, is one of the most dynamic places in Dhaka. Here, the Sadarghat Lunch Terminal is one of the largest river ports in the world. About 200 large and small passenger launches depart and arrive at the terminal every...

    )
  • Dhaka (Nazira Bazaar – Tekka Mistiri Rickshaw Garage)
  • Dhaka (Lalbagh Fort)


In this leg's Detour, teams chose between Balanced Meal or Balanced Bricks. In Balanced Meal, teams picked up 30 filled tiffin carriers and took them by boat to a larger boat in the harbor. After lifting the lunches to the boat, teams would have to take 10 empty carriers back to shore where they can exchange them for the next clue. In Balanced Bricks, teams had to unload bricks from a brick barge and carry them to a shop in the market in baskets on their head. Once they had 100 unbroken bricks, they would receive their next clue. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to assemble a cycle rickshaw
Cycle rickshaw
The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport; it is also known by a variety of other names such as velotaxi, pedicab, bikecab, cyclo, becak, trisikad, or trishaw or, simply, rickshaw which also refers to auto rickshaws, and the, now uncommon, rickshaws pulled by a person on foot...

 properly, using all parts given, in order to receive their clue.

Additional tasks
  • At Sundarban Square Supermarket, teams had to find the sugarcane
    Sugarcane
    Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...

     stall and then press a sugarcane to collect its juice
    Sugarcane juice
    Sugarcane juice is the juice extracted from pressed sugarcane. It is consumed as a beverage worldwide, and especially in regions where sugarcane is commercially grown such as Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Latin America....

    . One team member would then have to drink the juice to receive their next clue.

Leg 10 (Bangladesh → Hong Kong)

Dhaka (Shahjalal International Airport) to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 , China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

  (Hong Kong International Airport
Hong Kong International Airport
Hong Kong International Airport is the main airport in Hong Kong. It is colloquially known as Chek Lap Kok Airport , being built on the island of Chek Lap Kok by land reclamation, and also to distinguish it from its predecessor, the closed Kai Tak Airport.The airport opened for commercial...

) and Central
Central, Hong Kong
Central is the central business district of Hong Kong. It is located in Central and Western District, on the north shore of Hong Kong Island, across Victoria Harbour from Tsim Sha Tsui, the southernmost point of Kowloon Peninsula...

 (Central Piers
Central Piers
The Central Piers are situated on the northeast part of Central, Hong Kong Island. The ferries mostly depart to Outlying Islands in the New Territories, with the exception of Pier 1 serving as a government pier, and ferries from Piers 7, 8 going to Kowloon.-Ferry Services:The destinations of the...

) to Cheung Chau
Cheung Chau
Cheung Chau is a small island 10 km southwest of Hong Kong Island, is nicknamed as the 'dumbbell island' for its shape. It has been inhabited for longer than most other places in the territory of Hong Kong, with a population of about 23,000 up to 2006...

, Islands District
Islands District
The Islands District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. It is part of the New Territories. It had a population of 137,122 in 2009.Hong Kong consists of a peninsula and 236 islands...

 (Cheung Chau Ferry Pier)
  • Cheung Chau (Cheung Po Tsai
    Cheung Po Tsai
    Cheung Po Tsai was a 19th century Chinese pirate. He was also known as Cheung Po/Chang Pao/Zhang Bao .Several places in Hong Kong are linked to Cheung Po Tsai:* Cheung Po Tsai Cave, on Cheung Chau island...

     Cave) Cheung Chau (Cheung Chau Ferry Pier) to Kowloon
    Kowloon
    Kowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It is bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutter's Island in the west, Tate's Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and Victoria Harbour in the south. It had a population of...

     (Kowloon Public Pier
    Kowloon Public Pier
    Kowloon Public Pier or Tsim Sha Tsui Public Pier is a public pier in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It approaches Hong Kong Cultural Centre and Victoria Harbour. Any ships can freely park at the pier.- History :...

    )
  • Jordan
    Jordan, Hong Kong
    Jordan is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District of Hong Kong. The unofficial area is named after a road of the same name.-Geography:Jordan is located in the central part of the Yau Tsim Mong District, as suggested by the name of some bus stops nearby...

     (Majesty Chinese Restaurant [])
  • Tsim Sha Tsui
    Tsim Sha Tsui
    Tsim Sha Tsui , often abbreviated as TST, is an urbanized area in southern Kowloon, Hong Kong. The area is administratively part of the Yau Tsim Mong District. Tsim Sha Tsui East is a piece of land reclaimed from the Hung Hom Bay now east of Tsim Sha Tsui...

     (Avenue of Stars
    Avenue of Stars, Hong Kong
    The Avenue of Stars , modelled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, is located along the Victoria Harbour waterfront in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. It honours celebrities of the Hong Kong film industry.-History:...

     – Statue of
    Bruce Lee statue in Hong Kong
    The Bruce Lee statue in Hong Kong is a memorial figure of deceased martial artist, Bruce Lee. The Hong Kong memorial was built on behalf of Bruce Lee, who died on 20 July 1973 at the age of 32....

     Bruce Lee
    Bruce Lee
    Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...

    )
  • Central (Statue Square
    Statue Square
    Statue Square is a public pedestrian square in Central, Hong Kong.-History:The square was built at the end of the 19th century. The idea of a square of statues dedicated to royalty was conceived by Sir Catchick Paul Chater. It derives its name from the fact that it originally contained the statue...

    )


In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to use chopsticks
Chopsticks
Chopsticks are small, often tapered, sticks used in pairs of equal length as the traditional eating utensils of China and its diaspora, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Northern provinces of Laos, Thailand and Burma. Generally believed to have originated in ancient China, they can also be found in some...

 to search among several plates of food on a buffet for one of five pieces of fake food
Fake food
Fake foods are made from various types of plastics, resins and materials to replicate the appearance of real foods.There are various names for fake food including: pretend food, wax food, artificial food, faux food, replica food, imitation food, food replicas, false foods, food fakes and simulated...

 normally used for display. If the racer picked up a real piece of food, he or she had to eat it before moving on. Once they found the fake food, they would receive their next clue. In this leg's Detour, teams chose between Ding Ding and Sampan. In Ding Ding, teams rode the Hong Kong Tramways
Hong Kong Tramways
Hong Kong Tramways is a tram system in Hong Kong and one of the earliest forms of public transport in Hong Kong. Owned and operated by Veolia Transport, the tramway runs on Hong Kong Island between Shau Kei Wan and Kennedy Town, with a branch circulating Happy Valley...

, colloquially known as the "Ding Ding", looking for three signs (reading "Pit Stop", "Statue", and "Square") which reveal the location of the Pit Stop. In Sampan, teams went to the Jumbo Kingdom
Jumbo Kingdom
Jumbo Kingdom consists of the Jumbo Floating Restaurant and the adjacent Tai Pak Floating Restaurant , renowned tourist attractions in Aberdeen South Typhoon Shelter, within Hong Kong's Aberdeen Harbour. Over 30 million visitors have visited Jumbo Kingdom, including Queen Elizabeth II, John...

's dock and took a pair of budgerigar
Budgerigar
The Budgerigar , also known as Common Pet Parakeet or Shell Parakeet informally nicknamed the budgie, is a small, long-tailed, seed-eating parrot, and the only species in the Australian genus Melopsittacus...

s in a birdcage
Birdcage
A birdcage is a cage designed to house birds as pets.Antique birdcages are often popular as collectors' items or as household decor but most are not suitable for housing live birds, being too small, or of unsafe materials or construction...

 on a sampan
Sampan
A sampan is a relatively flat bottomed Chinese wooden boat from long. Some sampans include a small shelter on board, and may be used as a permanent habitation on inland waters. Sampans are generally used for transportation in coastal areas or rivers, and are often used as traditional fishing boats...

, searching Aberdeen Harbour for a boat with the registration number matching the number on their birdcage. They could then trade the birdcage for the location of the Pit Stop.

Leg 11 (Hong Kong → South Korea)

Hong Kong (Hong Kong International Airport) to Incheon
Incheon
The Incheon Metropolitan City is located in northwestern South Korea. The city was home to just 4,700 people when Jemulpo port was built in 1883. Today 2.76 million people live in the city, making it Korea’s third most populous city after Seoul and Busan Metropolitan City...

, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

  (Incheon International Airport
Incheon International Airport
Incheon International Airport is the largest airport in South Korea, the primary airport serving the Seoul national capital area, and one of the largest and busiest airports in the world...

)
  • Cheorwon, Gangwon
    Gangwon-do (South Korea)
    Gangwon-do is a province of South Korea, with its capital at Chuncheon. Before the division of Korea in 1945, Gangwon and its North Korean neighbour Kangwŏn formed a single province.-History:...

     (Seung-il Bridge [])
  • Dongducheon
    Dongducheon
    Dongducheon is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.The city located in the north of Seoul is strategically important for the defence of the Korean capital.The main camps of the US Second Infantry Division are located in the city with the division command at Uijeongbu City.-History:During...

    , Gyeonggi
    Gyeonggi-do
    Gyeonggi-do is the most populous province in South Korea. The provincial capital is located at Suwon. Seoul—South Korea's largest city and national capital—is located in the heart of the province, but has been separately administered as a provincial-level special city since 1946...

     (Camp Casey
    Camp Casey, South Korea
    Camp Casey is an American military camp in Dongducheon , South Korea, north of Seoul, South Korea. Camp Casey was named in 1952 after Major Hugh Boyd Casey, who was killed in an airplane crash near Camp Casey during the Korean War. Camp Casey is one of several U.S. Army bases in South Korea near...

    ) Dongducheon (Dongducheon Station
    Dongducheon Station
    Dongducheon Station is a metro station located in Dongducheon, South Korea. Seoul Subway Line 1 serves this station, and it is the station right before the northern terminus of Line 1, which is Soyosan...

    ) to Seoul
    Seoul
    Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

     (World Cup Stadium Station
    World Cup Stadium Station
    The World Cup Stadium Station is a metropolitan subway station in Seoul, Korea. The station was built to facilitate access to the Seoul World Cup Stadium for 2002...

    )
  • Seoul (Seoul World Cup Stadium
    Seoul World Cup Stadium
    The Seoul World Cup Stadium, also known as Sangam Stadium, is located in Seongsan, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It was built for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and opened in 2001. It was designed to represent the image of a traditional Korean kite...

    )
  • Seoul (Yeouido
    Yeouido
    Yeouido is a large island in the Han River in Seoul, South Korea. It is Seoul's main business and investment banking district. Its 8.4 square kilometers are home to some 30,988 people. The island is located in the Yeongdeungpo-gu district of Seoul, and largely corresponds to the precinct of...

     Hangang
    Han River (Korea)
    The Han River is a major river in South Korea and the fourth longest river on the Korean peninsula after the Amnok, Duman, and Nakdong rivers. It is formed by the confluence of the Namhan River , which originates in Mount Daedeok, and the Bukhan River , which originates on the slopes of Mount...

     Park [] – Airplane Statue)
  • Seoul (Wongudan
    Wongudan
    Wongudan Altar, located in Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea, was built in 1897 to serve as a site for the performance of the rite of heaven. The site was also known by other names, such as Hwangudan , Jecheondan and Wondan...

    )


In the leg's Roadblock, one team member chose a headband and then searched among 200 soldiers practicing taekwondo
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...

 for the one wearing a matching headband. Once they found the right soldier, the soldier would break open a wooden board that contained their next clue. If they picked the wrong soldier, the soldier would take the headband, and they would have to retrieve another headband. In the leg's Detour, teams chose between Full Throttle or Full Bottle. In Full Throttle, teams traveled to the Mok-dong
Mok-dong
Mok-dong is a dong, neighbourhood of Yangcheon-gu in Seoul, South Korea.It is famous for its education and good schools, including Yang-Chung High school where Phillip Kim, or Dong yeon Kim goes to, and which has more than 100 years of history. For this reason, it is home to many upper class...

 Ice Rink
Ice rink
An ice rink is a frozen body of water and/or hardened chemicals where people can skate or play winter sports. Besides recreational ice skating, some of its uses include ice hockey, figure skating and curling as well as exhibitions, contests and ice shows...

 (목동 아이스링크) and put on short track speed skating
Short track speed skating
Short track speed skating is a form of competitive ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters skate on an oval ice track with a circumference of 111.12 m...

 suits and complete a two-person skating relay of 24 laps of the rink before they were given their next clue. In Full Bottle, teams traveled to Namdaemun Market
Namdaemun market
Namdaemun Market is a large traditional market in Seoul, South Korea. The market is located next to Namdaemun, the "Great South Gate," which was the main southern gate to the old city. It is the oldest and largest market in Korea.-History:...

 to put on delivery uniforms and then deliver six large glass bottles of ginseng
Ginseng
Ginseng is any one of eleven species of slow-growing perennial plants with fleshy roots, belonging to the genus Panax of the family Araliaceae....

 roots to a holistic
Holism
Holism is the idea that all the properties of a given system cannot be determined or explained by its component parts alone...

 wellness store, without breaking any of the glasses. They then must both drink a bottle of ginseng tonic before they would receive their next clue. For this leg's Speed Bump, Nick & Vicki had to clean one of the M109 Self-Propelled Howitzers
M109 howitzer
The M109 is an American-made self-propelled 155 mm howitzer, first introduced in the early 1960s. It was upgraded a number of times to today's M109A6 Paladin...

 at Camp Casey even though Phil was not shown describing it on air.
Additional tasks
  • Upon arriving at the Seung-il Bridge, teams whitewater rafted
    Rafting
    Rafting or white water rafting is a challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. The development of this...

     down the Hantan River
    Hantan River
    The Hantan River is a river in South Korea, flowing through Gangwon and Gyeonggi Provinces. It is a tributary of the Imjin River, which eventually joins the Han River and empties into the Yellow Sea. The Hantan River is a popular site for white-water rafting....

     to a Humvee that would then drive them to Camp Casey
    Camp Casey, South Korea
    Camp Casey is an American military camp in Dongducheon , South Korea, north of Seoul, South Korea. Camp Casey was named in 1952 after Major Hugh Boyd Casey, who was killed in an airplane crash near Camp Casey during the Korean War. Camp Casey is one of several U.S. Army bases in South Korea near...

     in Dongducheon
    Dongducheon
    Dongducheon is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.The city located in the north of Seoul is strategically important for the defence of the Korean capital.The main camps of the US Second Infantry Division are located in the city with the division command at Uijeongbu City.-History:During...

    .

Leg 12 (South Korea → United States)

Incheon (Incheon International Airport) to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, USA   (Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...

)
  • Long Beach
    Long Beach, California
    Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...

     (Port of Long Beach
    Port of Long Beach
    The Port of Long Beach, also known as Long Beach’s Harbor Department, is the 2nd busiest container port in the USA. It adjoins the separate Port of Los Angeles. Acting as a major gateway for U.S.-Asian trade, the port occupies of land with of waterfront in the city of Long Beach, California...

     – Pier J 266)
  • Pasadena
    Pasadena, California
    Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...

     (Rose Bowl
    Rose Bowl (stadium)
    The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium in Pasadena, California, U.S., in Los Angeles County. The stadium is the site of the annual college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, held on New Year's Day. In 1982, it became the home field of the UCLA Bruins college football team of the Pac-12...

    )
  • Los Angeles (Quixote Studios
    Quixote Studios
    Quixote Studios is a film and photo studio in Los Angeles as well as a provider of production related vehicles, grip and lighting equipment, expendables and production supplies.-History:...

    )
  • Beverly Hills
    Beverly Hills, California
    Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...

     (Greystone Mansion
    Greystone Mansion
    Greystone Mansion, also known as the Doheny Mansion, is a Tudor-style mansion on a landscaped estate with distinctive formal English gardens, located in Beverly Hills, California, United States. The architect Gordon Kaufmann designed the residence and ancillary structures, with construction...

    )


In the race's final Roadblock, one team member had to decorate three sections of the theme
Tournament of Roses Parade themes
A following is a chronological list of Tournament of Roses Parade themes.-Themes:* 1918 – Patriotism* 1919 – Victory Tournament* 1920-1926 – No Themes* 1927 – Songs in Flowers* 1928 – States & Nations in Flowers* 1929 – Poems in Flowers...

 float
Float (parade)
A float is a decorated platform, either built on a vehicle or towed behind one, which is a component of many festive parades, such as those of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, the Carnival of Viareggio, the Maltese Carnival, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Key West Fantasy Fest parade, the...

 for the Tournament of Roses Parade
Tournament of Roses Parade
The Tournament of Roses Parade, better known as the Rose Parade, is "America's New Year Celebration", a festival of flower-covered floats, marching bands, equestrians and a college football game on New Year's Day , produced by the non-profit Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association.The annual...

, by gluing chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemums, often called mums or chrysanths, are of the genus constituting approximately 30 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Asteraceae which is native to Asia and northeastern Europe.-Etymology:...

s to one section, placing rose
Rose
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...

s in special vials of water and then placing them in a section of the float, and then covering a giant cardboard rose with finely ground straw
Straw
Straw is an agricultural by-product, the dry stalks of cereal plants, after the grain and chaff have been removed. Straw makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has many uses, including fuel, livestock bedding and fodder, thatching and...

 to cover it with "natural materials" as stated in the rules for decorating the floats. If they completed the float sections correctly, the floral director would tell them that they could receive their next clue from 2009 Rose Queen
Queens of the Tournament of Roses
Each year in September and early October, the Pasadena Tournament of Roses administers a selection process to determine which greater Pasadena-area girls will have the honor of being crowned Queen of the Tournament of Roses, or one of the members of her "Royal Court". Each year over 1000 girls...

 Courtney Lee.

Additional tasks
  • At the Port of Long Beach's Pier J, teams rode an elevator to the top of one of the pier's gantry crane
    Gantry crane
    Gantry cranes, bridge cranes, and overhead cranes, are all types of cranes which lift objects by a hoist which is fitted in a hoist trolley and can move horizontally on a rail or pair of rails fitted under a beam...

    s where they received their clue. They were then dropped down from the crane on a tandem bungee
    Bungee jumping
    Bungee jumping is an activity that involves jumping from a tall structure while connected to a large elastic cord. The tall structure is usually a fixed object, such as a building, bridge or crane; but it is also possible to jump from a movable object, such as a hot-air-balloon or helicopter, that...

     swing over the water. Once they were on the dock, again, they could read the clue which told them they would be riding a helicopter to a surprise destination: the Rose Bowl
    Rose Bowl (stadium)
    The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium in Pasadena, California, U.S., in Los Angeles County. The stadium is the site of the annual college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, held on New Year's Day. In 1982, it became the home field of the UCLA Bruins college football team of the Pac-12...

    .
  • After completing the Roadblock, teams had solve a series of riddles in their clue — "I am Sancho Panza
    Sancho Panza
    Sancho Panza is a fictional character in the novel Don Quixote written by Spanish author Don Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra in 1605. Sancho acts as squire to Don Quixote, and provides comments throughout the novel, known as sanchismos, that are a combination of broad humour, ironic Spanish proverbs,...

    's master" (Don Quixote), "I am the place to hear The Symphony in the Glen" (Griffith Park
    Griffith Park
    Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park covers of land, making it one of the largest urban parks in North America...

    ), "Monroe
    Marilyn Monroe
    Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....

    's Year of the Itch" (The Seven Year Itch
    The Seven Year Itch
    The Seven Year Itch is a 1955 American film based on a three-act play with the same name by George Axelrod. The film was co-written and directed by Billy Wilder, and starred Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, reprising his Broadway role...

    ) — to figure out their next destination: Quixote Studios
    Quixote Studios
    Quixote Studios is a film and photo studio in Los Angeles as well as a provider of production related vehicles, grip and lighting equipment, expendables and production supplies.-History:...

    ' Stage 7 located in Griffith Park
    Griffith Park
    Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park covers of land, making it one of the largest urban parks in North America...

    .
  • At Quixote Studios, teams were put in front of a large game show
    Game show
    A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...

    -like board that flashed videos of 48 people wearing different kinds of hats, 11 of which were the greeters at the Pit Stop maps for the race (the others were from previous races). Teams used a control panel to pick the greeters and then place them in the order that they appeared along the race. Once they had the correct people and order, they could get their final clue from game show host Bob Eubanks
    Bob Eubanks
    Robert Leland "Bob" Eubanks is an American television/radio personality and game show host, best known for hosting the game show The Newlywed Game on and off since 1966, where he was known for using the catchphrase, "Makin' Whoopee"...

    .

US Ratings

# Airdate Episode Rating Share Rating/Share
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...

Viewers Rank Rank Rank Rank
Households 18–49 (millions) Timeslot
(Viewers)
Timeslot
(18–49)
Week
(Viewers)
Week
(18–49)
1 09/26/10 "They Don't Call It the Amazing Race for Nothin!" 6.3 10 3.7/9 11.54 #2 #2 #26
2 10/03/10 "A Kiss Saves the Day" 6.2 10 3.4/9 10.67 #2 #2 #28 #25
3 10/10/10 "In Phil We Trust" 6.9 11 3.8/9 11.99 #3 #3 #20 #13
4 10/17/10 "We Should Have Brought Gloves and Butt Pads" 6.3 10 3.5/9 10.94 #2 #2 #21 #21
5 10/24/10 "Tastes Like a Million Dollars" 6.7 10 3.4/8 11.42 #2 #2 #20 #19
6 10/31/10 "Run, Babushka, Run" 5.3 9 2.6/7 9.09 #3 #3 (<#25) (<#25)
7 11/07/10 "I Want to Be In the Circus, That's Where I Belong" 6.5 10 3.3/8 11.01 #20 #23
8 11/14/10 "Ali Baba In a Suit" 6.0 9 2.8/7 10.34 #2 #2
9 11/21/10 "There's a Lot of Nuts and Bullets" 6.2 9 3.0/7 10.59 #2 #2 #24
10 11/28/10 "I Hate Chinese Food" 6.3 10 3.1/8 11.07 #13 #17
11 12/05/10 "I'm Surrounded By Ninjas" 6.1 9 3.1/8 10.34 #2 #2 #17 #14
12 12/12/10 "Hi. I'm Sorry. I'm In a Race" 7.0 11 3.7/9 12.12 #2 #2 #11 #10

  • Episode 6, "Run, Babushka, Run", aired on Halloween
    Halloween
    Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...

     when viewership was down for all shows and where it went up against Sunday Night Football
    NBC Sunday Night Football
    NBC Sunday Night Football is a weekly television broadcast of Sunday evening National Football League games on NBC that began airing on Sunday, August 6, 2006 with the pre-season opening Hall of Fame Game. Al Michaels serves as the play-by-play announcer, with Cris Collinsworth as the color...

     and Game 4 of the World Series.

Canadian Ratings

Canadian broadcaster CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...

 also airs The Amazing Race on Sundays at 8pm Eastern
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...

, Central, & Atlantic
Atlantic Standard Time Zone
The Atlantic Standard Time Zone is a geographical region that keeps time by subtracting four hours from either Coordinated Universal Time or Greenwich Mean Time , resulting in UTC-4 or GMT-4...

 (9pm Pacific
Pacific Time Zone
The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States...

 & Mountain
Mountain Time Zone
The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time, during the shortest days of autumn and winter , and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn...

).
# Airdate Episode Viewers
(millions)
Rank
(Week)
1 09/26/10 "They Don't Call It The Amazing Race For Nothin!" 2.438 #8
2 10/03/10 "A Kiss Saves the Day" 2.623 #3
3 10/10/10 "In Phil We Trust" 2.301 #7
4 10/17/10 "We Should Have Brought Gloves and Butt Pads" 2.989 #1
5 10/24/10 "Tastes Like a Million Dollars" 2.723 #2
6 10/31/10 "Run, Babushka, Run" 2.360 #6
7 11/07/10 "I Want to Be in the Circus, That's Where I Belong" 2.674 #4
8 11/14/10 "Ali Baba in a Suit" 2.791 #2
9 11/21/10 "There's a Lot of Nuts and Bullets" 2.632 #3
10 11/28/10 "I Hate Chinese Food" 2.506 #4
11 12/05/10 "I'm Surrounded by Ninjas" 2.681 #1
12 12/12/10 "Hi. I'm Sorry. I'm in a Race" 2.738 #1

Australian Ratings

The Amazing Race 17 airs Thursdays fastracked at 7:30pm on Australia's Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...

.
# Airdate Episode Viewers
(millions)
Rank
(Week)
1 09/30/10 "They Don't Call It The Amazing Race For Nothin!" 0.787 #59
2 10/07/10 "A Kiss Saves the Day" 0.795 #44
3 10/14/10 "In Phil We Trust" 0.773 #48
4 10/21/10 "We Should Have Brought Gloves and Butt Pads" 0.802 #52
5 10/28/10 "Tastes Like a Million Dollars" 0.849 #55
6 11/04/10 "Run, Babushka, Run" 0.772 #62
7 11/11/10 "I Want to Be in the Circus, That's Where I Belong" 0.904 #45
8 11/18/10 "Ali Baba in a Suit" 0.667 #71
9 11/25/10 "There's a Lot of Nuts and Bullets" 0.797 #49
10 12/02/10 "I Hate Chinese Food" 0.718 #49
11 12/09/10 "I'm Surrounded by Ninjas" 0.688 #48
12 12/16/10 "Hi. I'm Sorry. I'm in a Race" 0.749 #37

External links

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