Everyone has a story about what they were doing when the world shut down in 2020. Our story? Well, we finally get to tell you. We had just finished leg 3 of The Amazing Race.
Thank you to all of you who have tuned in to support us on this crazy journey. If you’re not familiar, The Amazing Race has been in production for more than twenty years. It’s the only reality show our family has loyally watched. Eleven teams of two race across the globe competing in physical and mental challenges in hopes of winning a million dollars. We had a chance to be a part of Season 33 and, while I had tears in my eyes saying goodbye to my kids, I was excited about a 30 day adventure.
One of the benefits of the experience is having just one thing to focus on. In our daily lives we’re juggling work, school, kids, dinnertime, emails. Real life doesn’t stop. On the race? Your only goal is to win … or at least, not be eliminated. In late February 2020, we had just completed leg 3 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Spoiler Alert: We WON the leg, by the way!)
We were finally able to rest and watch some TV in the hotel. It was clear, this thing called Coronavirus was spreading.
Making The Tough Call
It was obvious to me we needed to get home, and quickly. None of us had ever been through any of this before so I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to get back to our kids or if we’d be stuck in the UK. At the same time, CBS and executives of The Amazing Race were watching the world events. They made the tough call to do what they’d never had to do before … to suspend production.
It was devastating, we had all worked so hard to be there, but it was the right call. In this week’s recap, we talk about what it was like on this leg of the Race when we pulled ahead and what was going through our minds when we learned that we’d be going home. You can watch this recap on YouTube or with the links below:
