The Amazing Race 10 is the tenth season of the American reality competition show The Amazing Race. Hosted by Phil Keoghan, it featured twelve teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, competing in a race around the world. This season visited four continents and thirteen countries, traveling approximately over twelve legs. Filming took place from May 27 to June 24, 2006. Starting in Seattle, racers traveled through China, Mongolia, Vietnam, India, Kuwait, Mauritius, Madagascar, Finland, Ukraine, Morocco, Spain, and France, before returning to the United States and finishing in the Hudson Valley. The season premiered on CBS on September 17, 2006, and concluded on December 10, 2006.
Professional models Tyler Denk and James Branaman were the winners of this season, while dating couple Rob Diaz and Kimberly Chabolla finished in second place, and single mothers Lyn Turk and Karlyn Harris finished in third place.
Format
The Amazing Race is a reality television show created by Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri, and hosted by Phil Keoghan. The series follows teams of two competing in a race around the world. Each leg of the race requires teams to deduce clues, navigate foreign environments, interact with locals, perform physical and mental challenges, and travel on a limited budget provided by the show. At each stop during the leg, teams receive clues inside sealed envelopes, which fall into one of these categories: Route Info: These are simple instructions that teams must follow before they can receive their next clue. Detour: A Detour is a choice between two tasks. Teams may choose either task and switch tasks if they find one option too difficult. There is usually one Detour present on each leg. Roadblock: A Roadblock is a task that only one team member can complete. Teams must choose which member will complete the task based on a brief clue they receive before fully learning the details of the task. There is usually one Roadblock present on each leg. Fast Forward: A Fast Forward is a task that only one team may complete, which allows that team to skip all remaining tasks on the leg and go directly to the next Pit Stop. Teams may only claim one Fast Forward during the entire race. Yield: The Yield allows one team to force another team to stop racing for a predetermined amount of time before they can continue the race. Teams may use the Yield only one time during the entire race. Intersection: An Intersection requires two teams to work together until otherwise instructed. Most teams who arrive last at the Pit Stop of each leg are progressively eliminated, while the first team to arrive at the finish line in the final episode wins the grand prize of US$1,000,000.
Production Development and filming
Filming for this season began on May 27, 2006, at Gas Works Park in Seattle. On June 9, teams were spotted at Kuwait International Airport asking for directions to the Kuwait Towers. On June 12, production was spotted in Mauritius. On June 16, tasks were performed at Ylöjärvi and at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. Filming concluded on June 24. The Amazing Race 10 spanned and covered four continents and 13 countries. Among them were six that were new to the series: Mongolia, Kuwait, Mauritius, Madagascar, Finland, and Ukraine.
This season saw the show's first double elimination in a single leg, when one team was eliminated halfway through the leg and another at the end. It also introduced a new obstacle, the Intersection, which required two teams to work together until otherwise instructed. The Intersection was also shown in conjunction with a Fast Forward, allowing both teams working together to receive the benefit of the Fast Forward. Additionally, the penalty for coming in last on a non-elimination leg was changed. Instead of being stripped of their money and possessions, the last place team was "marked for elimination", meaning the marked team would suffer a 30-minute penalty at the next Pit Stop unless they were the first to check in.
During the leg in Ukraine, host Phil Keoghan was detained at the airport for traveling to the country with a New Zealand passport and without a Ukrainian visa, which he had been informed prior to filming was not needed. He was released the next day after a worker from the American embassy processed a visa for him. After being released, Keoghan arrived at the Pit Stop 10 minutes before the lead team arrived.
Contestants
The cast of The Amazing Race 10 was increased to 12 teams for the first time since season 4. While Peter Harsch and Sarah Reinertsen were portrayed as a newly dating couple, to the extent that Peter seemingly broke up with Sarah during their elimination in Kuwait, Sarah revealed that they were only friends whose "dating" was non-existent and created to give them an interesting storyline. However, she did say that her displeasure over Peter's cold and hectoring behavior on the show was genuine.San Juan amputee tells 'real' story behind Amazing Race . Retrieved on July 21, 2012
ContestantsAgeRelationshipHometownStatus 37Best FriendsCleveland, OhioEliminated 1st(in Beijing, China) 39 29MarriedWindermere, FloridaEliminated 2nd(in Beijing, China) 26 22CheerleadersColumbia, South CarolinaEliminated 3rd(in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia) 22 52Father & DaughterWarwick, Rhode IslandEliminated 4th(in Phố Vác, Vietnam) 26 39BoyfriendsNew York City, New YorkEliminated 5th(in Hạ Long Bay, Vietnam) 45 35Recently Dating Laguna Beach, CaliforniaEliminated 6th(in Kuwait City, Kuwait) 31 Trabuco Canyon, California 32Coal Miner and WifeStone, KentuckyEliminated 7th(in Antananarivo, Madagascar) 31 32BrothersSan Francisco, CaliforniaEliminated 8th(in Kyiv, Ukraine) 29 24Beauty Queens Riverside, CaliforniaEliminated 9th(in Barcelona, Spain) 24 New York City, New York 32Single Moms & Friends Birmingham, AlabamaThird place 32 Helena, Alabama 31DatingLos Angeles, CaliforniaRunners-up 28 29ModelsLos Angeles, CaliforniaWinners 27
Future appearances Dustin Konzelman and Kandice Pelletier, and David and Mary Conley, were selected to race in The Amazing Race: All-Stars.
The Conleys also appeared on The View where they received gifts from the show, including vacations, a Ford Explorer, and a new house. In 2021, Tom Rock and Terry Cosentino competed on Ellen's Game of Games.
Results The following teams are listed with their placements in each leg. Placements are listed in finishing order. A placement with a dagger () indicates that the team was eliminated. An placement with a double-dagger () indicates that the team was the last to arrive at a Pit Stop in a non-elimination leg, and was "marked for elimination" in the following leg. An italicized placement indicates a team's placement at the midpoint of a double leg. A indicates that the team won the Fast Forward. A indicates that the team used the Yield and a indicates the team on the receiving end of the Yield. A indicates that the teams encountered an Intersection. +Team placement (by leg) Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9a 9b 10 11 12 Tyler & James 1st 2nd 2nd 3rd 6th 6th 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 1st 3rd 1st Rob & Kimberly 5th 6th 3rd 1st 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd 4th 3rd 3rd 1st 2nd Lyn & Karlyn 9th 9th 6th 6th 5th 4th 5th 5th 3rd 4th 2nd 2nd 3rd Dustin & Kandice 4th 5th 4th 7th 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 2nd 2nd Erwin & Godwin 7th 8th 1st 4th 4th 5th 4th 4th 5th David & Mary 10th 7th 7th 5th 1st Peter & Sarah 3rd 1st 5th 2nd 1st Tom & Terry 8th 4th 8th Duke & Lauren 2nd 3rd Kellie & Jamie 6th Vipul & Arti Bilal & Sa'eed Notes
Race summary
Leg 1 (United States → China)
Episode 1: "Real Fast! Quack, Quack!" (September 17, 2006) Prize: (awarded to Tyler and James) Eliminated: Bilal and Sa'eed Vipul and Arti Locations Seattle, Washington (Gas Works Park) (Starting Line) Seattle (Seattle–Tacoma International Airport) → Beijing, China Beijing (Gold House Restaurant) Beijing (Forbidden City – Meridian Gate) Beijing (14 Houhai North Bank Road) Beijing (Run De Li Market Beihai Park) Beijing (Great Wall of China – Juyongguan) Episode summary Teams set off from Gas Works Park and drove to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, where they had to book one of two flights to Beijing, China. Once there, teams had to travel to the Gold House Restaurant, where they found their next clue. In this season's first Roadblock, one team member had to eat all of the eyeballs from a fish head soup in order to receive their next clue. After the Roadblock, teams had to travel to the Meridian Gate in the Forbidden City, where they had to find a kiosk and pick one of three departure times the next morning. The last team to arrive at the Meridian Gate – Bilal and Sa'eed – were eliminated. The next morning, teams had to direct the driver of a World War II-era sidecar motorbike to 14 Houhai North Bank Road and find the pedicab manager in order to receive their next clue. This season's first Detour was a choice between Labor or Leisure. In Labor, teams had to travel by pedicab to Run De Li Market, where they had to use traditional Chinese bricks to pave a section of sidewalk in a specific pattern in order to receive their next clue. In Leisure, teams had to travel by pedicab to Beihai Park and participate in a Chinese relaxation exercise known as Taiji Bailong, in which they had to successfully balance a ball on a paddle in order to receive their next clue. After the Detour, teams had to travel to the Juyongguan section of the Great Wall of China and use a rope to scale the wall in order to reach the Pit Stop.
Leg 2 (China → Mongolia)
Episode 2: "Can Horses Smell Fear?" (September 24, 2006) Prize: A trip to Mexico (awarded to Peter and Sarah) Eliminated: Kellie and Jamie Locations Beijing (Great Wall of China – Juyongguan) Beijing (Juyongguan Bus Stop) → Erenhot Erenhot → Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Ulaanbaatar (Choijin Lama Temple) Terelj (Gorkhi-Terelj National Park) Ulaanbaatar (Hotel Mongolia) Episode summary At the start of this leg, teams had to sign up for one of two buses departing two hours apart to Erenhot, where they then had to travel by train to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Once there, teams had to go to the Choijin Lama Temple, where they had to observe a ceremony before receiving their next clue. Teams were directed to drive to Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, where they had to don traditional Mongolian army hats and ride horses until they reached a meadow with their next clue. This leg's Detour was a choice between Take It Down or Fill It Up. In Take It Down, teams chose a nomadic shelter called a yurt, took the canvas and roof down, packaged it for transport, and loaded it onto a camel to receive their next clue. In Fill It Up, teams had to take a cart, pulled by a hynik (an indigenous ox), to a river, fill four water containers, and bring them back to fill a barrel in order to receive their next clue. After the Detour, teams had to drive to the Hotel Mongolia in Ulaanbaatar in order to find their next clue. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to string a traditional Mongolian bow and shoot a flaming arrow at a target away. After hitting the target, teams could run uphill to the nearby Pit Stop.
Leg 3 (Mongolia → Vietnam)
Episode 3: "Oh, Wow! It's Like One of Those Things You See on TV!" (October 1, 2006) Prize: A state-of-the-art home theater system (awarded to Erwin and Godwin) Eliminated: Duke and Lauren Locations Ulaanbaatar (Hotel Mongolia) Ulaanbaatar (Chinggis Khaan Hotel) Ulaanbaatar → Hanoi, Vietnam Hanoi (Hỏa Lò Prison) Hanoi (Old Quarter – Thoa Flower Shop) Hanoi → Phố Vác Phố Vác (Dinh Vác Temple) Phố Vác (Home of Nguyĕn Văn Thuý Nhà Thò) Phố Vác (Canh Dong Dia) Episode summary