S33.E06: Say Cheese

[Zonk]

3 hours ago, Haleth said:

Normally a high test bro team that was this aggressive about always being first would annoy me, but I think Dusty whooping it up was justified in this case.  They went from a distant last place to third.  That is pretty impressive.  Now tone it down, dude.

I mean "distant". The tasks where right next to each other and the mule task was pretty fast. They were maybe half an hour behind.

Also it's not like bad taxi luck or something got them there. They got themselves to that point. I'll be impressed when they don't fuck themselves over.

[Haleth]

30 minutes ago, Zonk said:

mean "distant". The tasks where right next to each other and the mule task was pretty fast. They were maybe half an hour behind.

He said they were 40 mins behind. That’s pretty distant to me. 

[chaifan]

16 minutes ago, Haleth said:

He said they were 40 mins behind. That’s pretty distant to me. 

I thought they said they spent 40 minutes at the cheese task, not 40 minutes behind everyone else. 

[AZChristian]

2 hours ago, smartymarty said:

As they were leaving the water detour, he said something about having "left it all on the court."

He left it all in the locker room before he even got to the court.  Putting on those heavy shoes really wiped him out.

[proserpina65]

2 hours ago, smartymarty said:

Actually, wetsuits float.

Yep.  But you know, Akbar.

 

20 hours ago, blackwing said:

As far as the excuse that they had to "scramble" to come up with new locations and new tasks because of Covid... I am assuming they had months to plan the race.  It wasn't like all of a sudden the Covid restrictions were dropped, the teams are getting on a plane tomorrow, and they had to design it on the fly. 

It wasn't on the fly, but they probably did not have all that many months of lead time because places were pretty hit or miss about when/how restrictions were lifted.  Honestly, the mere fact that the producers were able to finish this Race while the world was (and still is) in the middle of a pandemic is pretty fucking amazing and I'm not going to get to fussed about the compromises they had to make to race design as a result.

 

15 hours ago, I Want My MBTV said:

They've nice enough and are enjoying the race (as they should be as if it hadn't been for stop/re-start they wouldn't even be here) but I'll be very disappointed if they somehow manage to luck their way into winning the whole thing.  To me it's just not the spirit of the race. 

They wouldn't be the first team to do that.  I've been disappointed more than once by winners who got lucky when other, more competent teams were eliminated by one mistake (The Beekman Boys, anyone?) and probably will be again.  At least Arun and Natalia seem nice, if terribly navigationally challenged.

 

15 hours ago, katalizt said:

I think those are waterproof microphones. They must've switched microphones off screen between blowing up the kayaks and getting in the river, and Ryan & Dusty's shirts probably came off in that process, lol.

In that case, all hail waterproof microphones!  ;-)

 

14 hours ago, dgpolo said:

Yep, that was his excuse, he had big feet and his shoes were too heavy.

And he had to wear spandex and the wetsuit added 300 pounds.  He had a whole list of excuses.

 

13 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Has the race been to Corsica before?  It was so beautiful and nothing like what I image when I hear the word "island".  

The Amazing Yellow Line returns!

 

Yes, they were in and around Ajaccio in season 6, when they visited Maison Bonaparte, had tasks involving lobster traps, crushing grapes for wine like they were Lucy & Ethel, and climbing a cliff face with mechanical ascenders.  This was the season of the infamous Jonathan & Victoria, won by the detestable Freddy & Kendra.

[aghst]

9 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

Yes, they were in and around Ajaccio in season 6, when they visited Maison Bonaparte, had tasks involving lobster traps, crushing grapes for wine like they were Lucy & Ethel, and climbing a cliff face with mechanical ascenders.  This was the season of the infamous Jonathan & Victoria, won by the detestable Freddy & Kendra.

 

I don't remember those but those sound interesting, more indicative of the culture of the place.

The canyon run was cool too but obviously let Ryan and Dusty not only catch up but run past some teams.  That's fine, but I don't think TAR has been only about being the most physically fit -- there are other shows which do that and I don't think they're nearly as popular as TAR.

 

[iMonrey]

Quote

What I said just above is why I think that they are doing compressed start times. They really can't have people too far apart because they are also using the Amazing Plane.

That doesn't really make sense to me. Flight times have never affected start times before, even when they all had to take the same plane. And there's nothing to say they can't spend an extra 24 hours in one location between legs if necessary. I think the most limiting factor this season has to be locations anyway. Didn't we have 2 legs in Scotland? Having groups start fifteen minutes apart just seems kind of lazy. I hope it doesn't become a regular thing after this season.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Blergh said:

BTW, I wonder how Dusty's newborn son's mother will react to him having shown off his admittedly toned chest in front of all those somewhat attractive (and evidently single) women? Not that they were all set dump racing against him just to stroke his and Ryan's muscles but still. . .

The flight attendants aren't single...they named their mule after their boyfriends 😆

[HurricaneVal]

I predict a Dudebro (*coughcough*Dusty*coughcough*) melt down at some future detail oriented task like the formal table setting  or Bedouin tent task from recent seasons.

Bonus points if they're stuck with completing the challenge due to having been U-turned or some other circumstance and they can't just get frustrated and abandon it half done.

[momlyd]

32 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

Honestly, the mere fact that the producers were able to finish this Race while the world was (and still is) in the middle of a pandemic is pretty fucking amazing and I'm not going to get to fussed about the compromises they had to make to race design as a result.

Agreed!

TAR, like everything else in the world, is a new animal. I'm grateful it's back.

 

We were re-watching yesterday because we missed the first 40 minutes on Wednesday and when they got to the river task, my husband and I both said we would have been so into the experience of it that we would have entirely missed the clues dangling from under that rock. 

Edited February 4, 2022 by momlyd

[AZChristian]

24 minutes ago, HurricaneVal said:

I predict a Dudebro (*coughcough*Dusty*coughcough*) melt down at some future detail oriented task like the formal table setting  or Bedouin tent task from recent seasons.

It will be especially likely to lead to a meltdown if Dusty already has had experience in setting a formal table or assembling a Bedouin tent.  Because he'll be sure he  doesn't need any stinkin' instructions.  LOL.

Edited February 4, 2022 by AZChristian

[chaifan]

25 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

That doesn't really make sense to me. Flight times have never affected start times before, even when they all had to take the same plane. And there's nothing to say they can't spend an extra 24 hours in one location between legs if necessary. I think the most limiting factor this season has to be locations anyway. Didn't we have 2 legs in Scotland? Having groups start fifteen minutes apart just seems kind of lazy. I hope it doesn't become a regular thing after this season.

I agree.  I can see why they don't want teams hours and hours apart this time, but I would think the private plane makes them more flexible, not less.  I think they could still use the actual times in/out, but put a cap on the maximum time span, like 4 hours.  If the last team(s) benefit, institute a speed bump. 

But, as someone mentioned above, it's amazing that TAR is back at all, so I hate to quibble.  It would be nice if it were explained at some point, and I really hope this doesn't become a thing for future seasons. 

Also, I miss the old departure time time stamps, as it let you know how far/close teams were to each other. 

[proserpina65]

40 minutes ago, aghst said:

I don't remember those but those sound interesting, more indicative of the culture of the place.

I think cheesemaking and outdoor activities fit just as well with the culture of the area they were in.  And not everything in this race has been physical.  The cheesemaking wasn't, the sausage making wasn't, and there were less physical options in all of the pre-shutdown legs.

2 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

It will be especially likely to lead to a meltdown if Dusty has had to set a formal table or assemble a Bedouin test.  Because he doesn't need any stinkin' instructions.  LOL.

Or he could have learned from the cheese incident and paid better attention to instructions.  We'll have to see.

[seacliffsal]

I think the race would be more interesting if three or four of the teams that didn't return had been able to do so.  There seemed to be some versatility and competence in some of those teams (but not all...). Instead, the two eliminated teams came back and we are just rewatching them again so it's almost like the race isn't progressing.  But, I am glad that Arun had a good time before he and his daughter are soon eliminated (not a spoiler, solely based on watching them...).

[Mittengirl]

Have the producers made any statement regarding when they were told the race would resume?  I can see initially thinking “O.K., so we can restart from here this summer(2020)”, which then shifted to “Well, certainly by fall”, which then probably became “Hell, just forget about this season” to, finally “Let’s see who, if anyone, we can get to come back”.  
I would guess that having to design and organize and redesign and reorganize and redesign (again) and reorganize (again) was a nightmare.  Places they were going to visit may have closed permanently, people they were working with may have left their job, locations that were willing to have a bunch of strangers running around back in July changed their minds by August (December, April 2021, etc.) 

Edited February 4, 2022 by Mittengirl

[Netfoot]

13 minutes ago, Mittengirl said:

I would guess that having to design and organize and redesign and reorganize and redesign (again) and reorganize (again) was a nightmare.

I'm sure you are right. Which is why I am so pleased that they made the effort, and found a way to bring us TAR-33, even if it required a massive amount of re-think on the part of TPTB.

So far, I will say the season is not the best I've ever seen, but given the stumbling blocks, I'm very satisfied with what I'm seeing so far. Not perfection, but not the complete cancellation of the entire race (not just S33) that might have come out of this mess. I'm glad for what I can get, and despite the changes, I think it's pretty good, especially if you take the situation into consideration.

I'm fine with S33 as it stands and I expect that for S34+ things can only be an improvement going forward.

[J-Man]

21 hours ago, chaifan said:

And, I didn't notice it first time around, but on rewatch noticed that everyone had black pendants on.  I'm guessing those were locators, just in case they went floating down river? 

Sounds like something Arun and Natalia should look into buying for use in real life.

Did anyone check in with Colton and Tony to see what their reaction to having a mule named after them was?

[whiporee]

I think Akbar was a dick, but as a large guy, a lot of these tasks that seem easy to smaller people can be really tough on big ones. There have been a LOT of stairs to climb this season, and no tasks where being physically strong could be helpful. They were a weird casting choice this year -- everyone else is at least in some way cardio fit, and both of them were big people who were going to struggle with all of these fundamentally narrow challenges. 

And while wetsuits do float, they are very heavy out of the water, and if you're already carrying 275 pounds and probably 6-8 of frame, that stuff gets tough. So while I think he should have been more sympathetic to Sheri, again, there have been a lot of climbs this season for someone of his (and her) size to navigate. I don't remember that being the usual case on the race.  

Edited February 4, 2022 by whiporee

[aghst]

Originally had a trip planned to Corsica in summer 2020.  So I rescheduled to 2021 and the trip encompassed Corsica and Nice and parts of Provence.

Ended up not going to Corsica at all because they required their own PCR test 72 hours before arriving.

The itinerary was to fly and spend a couple of nights in Nice and then fly to Corsica for a week.

But I wasn't sure where I would find a PCR test in Nice in time to get the results and fly to Ajaccio.

It turned out however, that France gave free tests to both residents and tourists in June and first half of July.  So I did get a free PCR test to visit Monaco, which also required PCR test.

Too late to visit Corsica though.

I don't know if Corsica dropped their requirement by the fall when these legs were filmed but maybe part of the protocols was frequent testing that the producers paid for.

For the most part, once you arrive in the EU. travelers from outside the EU weren't required to re-test each time they crossed EU borders.  That included Switzerland, which is not in the EU but goes along with many of the same travel policies.

[Tango64]

35 minutes ago, whiporee said:

I think Akbar was a dick, but as a large guy, a lot of these tasks that seem easy to smaller people can be really tough on big ones. There have been a LOT of stairs to climb this season, and no tasks where being physically strong could be helpful. They were a weird casting choice this year -- everyone else is at least in some way cardio fit, and both of them were big people who were going to struggle with all of these fundamentally narrow challenges. 

And while wetsuits do float, they are very heavy out of the water, and if you're already carrying 275 pounds and probably 6-8 of frame, that stuff gets tough. So while I think he should have been more sympathetic to Sheri, again, there have been a lot of climbs this season for someone of his (and her) size to navigate. I don't remember that being the usual case on the race.  

Have to agree even though Akbar was not very likable. I've seen comments on here about how the canyoneering course looked easy, and I have to think that's spoken by someone who's not his size. Being out of shape is one thing, and he was, but I'm a guy about his size and I was feeling sorry for him through that whole thing.

The cardio is part of it, but not all of it. When you're that size, just trying to fast hike through rocky terrain, squeezing through "normal size" rock passages, getting yourself up off the ground, all of it is harder. Even if you're in good cardio shape, which he apparently wasn't. I hike but I can't casually jump around on rocky terrain like my much smaller friend, who is like a billy goat, because I know that if I twist my ankle I'm in a world of trouble. My friend isn't carrying me down the mountain. And I know that if I fall, this 275 is going down hard. We learn that from experience.

Yeah, he was making a lot of excuses. But add a heavy, wet, constricting wet suit to the hiking, climbing, running parts and it would be an extra challenge for a guy like him. 

(I was still screaming 'You were a Division 1 athlete!' at him.)

[Blergh]

4 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

The flight attendants aren't single...they named their mule after their boyfriends 😆

I'm not sure that that bodes well of the staying power of the bonds if they consider a single mule to have embodied their two boyfriends  particularly since male mules are sterile. LOL

I agree with everyone how incredibly stunning and beautiful the interior Corsican landscape wound up being. I admit only having seen tiny clips and photos of just a few historic (mainly Napoleonic) sites around the towns and coastline which looked perfectly appealing but gave no hint as to the interior's allure. Of course, I admit that since I personally loathe Napoleon for how his armies wreaked havoc on all my ancestral homelands, I may not have been as eager to have considered exploring his island home before this particular episode. 

[Tdoc72]

1 hour ago, Tango64 said:

Have to agree even though Akbar was not very likable. I've seen comments on here about how the canyoneering course looked easy, and I have to think that's spoken by someone who's not his size. Being out of shape is one thing, and he was, but I'm a guy about his size and I was feeling sorry for him through that whole thing.

The cardio is part of it, but not all of it. When you're that size, just trying to fast hike through rocky terrain, squeezing through "normal size" rock passages, getting yourself up off the ground, all of it is harder. Even if you're in good cardio shape, which he apparently wasn't. I hike but I can't casually jump around on rocky terrain like my much smaller friend, who is like a billy goat, because I know that if I twist my ankle I'm in a world of trouble. My friend isn't carrying me down the mountain. And I know that if I fall, this 275 is going down hard. We learn that from experience.

Yeah, he was making a lot of excuses. But add a heavy, wet, constricting wet suit to the hiking, climbing, running parts and it would be an extra challenge for a guy like him. 

(I was still screaming 'You were a Division 1 athlete!' at him.)

Penn said in their podcast, that the water challenge was harder than it looked and that Akbar has knee problems from playing sports. Penn said he (Penn) was really sore afterwards & it wasn’t like being at a water park. 
~~~~

I know they aren’t peoples favs or whatever, but they do give a lot of info in their podcasts. Lots of little behind the scenes tidbits. 

[Netfoot]

3 hours ago, whiporee said:

There have been a LOT of stairs to climb this season, and no tasks where being physically strong could be helpful.

Apart from the wine/chestnuts up the staircase, what other climbs have there been? The via ferrata in Switzerland didn't strike me as that much climbing, and the "canyoning" route in Corsica was pretty much down hill all the way. Both of these may have been / almost certainly were arduous, but that's nothing new or unexpected for TAR.

Fact is, he was unrelentingly critical of Sherri as she struggled with the challenges she did. But when he finally got around to doing something himself and majorly screwed up, he managed to find a number of reasons why it wasn't his fault. Wet-suit, 30 lb. shoes, black cat crossed his path, whatever. And just shrugged it off as just one of those things.

He was a dick to Sheri the entire race, fouled up completely the first time he was asked to step up, didn't have the balls to admit that he screwed the pooch and that performance-wise he was worse than the wife he's been berating all along, and has been making excuses ever since. Simple as that.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I predict a Dudebro (*coughcough*Dusty*coughcough*) melt down at some future detail oriented task like the formal table setting  or Bedouin tent task from recent seasons.

I wouldn't rule out a Dusty meltdown - although to be fair, he didn't really have a meltdown this leg, per se. He had more of a manic moment than anything else. And Ryan was pretty chill.

That said, I think what tripped them up was Dusty's misunderstanding of how cheese is made based on some previous experiment, because elsewhere they have shown good attention to detail. It remains to be seen whether this was an isolated incident or if there's a pattern where they don't follow directions based on some previous misperception. (It's a fair bet they have never assembled a Bedouin tent or set a formal table setting before.)

Quote

I think the race would be more interesting if three or four of the teams that didn't return had been able to do so.  There seemed to be some versatility and competence in some of those teams (but not all...). Instead, the two eliminated teams came back and we are just rewatching them again so it's almost like the race isn't progressing. 

Frankly I think the most practical solution would have been to scrap the first three episodes and start fresh with whichever teams could return and fill out the rest of the cast with new teams. Whether or not that would have included Arun and Natalia and the singing cops is a separate debate. I don't know if it was a financial decision but we gained nothing by watching the pre-Covid episodes, they wound up being meaningless.

Quote

Penn said in their podcast, that the water challenge was harder than it looked and that Akbar has knee problems from playing sports. Penn said he (Penn) was really sore afterwards & it wasn’t like being at a water park.

Yes I thought it looked pretty tough, it was very physical and probably took a long time to complete. I think it just looked easier than it was because the episode sort of rushed through the whole thing. That last jump looked pretty scary to me, it was a good six feet and they were surrounded by rocks.

[Netfoot]

3 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Frankly I think the most practical solution would have been to scrap the first three episodes and start fresh with whichever teams could return and fill out the rest of the cast with new teams.

Ideally, perhaps. But they had three episodes "in the can", and that represented a certain value in IP that they would obviously have preferred not to throw away.

Not to mention, let's face it, that the COVID hiatus and the narrative that goes with it was something that they might have wanted to capitalize on. If nothing else, it explains/justifies the extreme changes in the format of the show.

Now, I think it would have been best if all teams still racing at the time of the hiatus were able to return. But for reasons which have been discussed elsewhere, that wasn't possible. So, given that they had to refill spots on the race left vacant by teams that couldn't return, I am far happier with them recalling Mike & Mo as well as Arun & Natalia, than I would have been with a handful of teams consisting of racers we've never heard of before. 

[whiporee]

2 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Apart from the wine/chestnuts up the staircase, what other climbs have there been? The via ferrata in Switzerland didn't strike me as that much climbing, and the "canyoning" route in Corsica was pretty much down hill all the way. Both of these may have been / almost certainly were arduous, but that's nothing new or unexpected for TAR.

 

The starting and ending point of the canyon challenge was the same place. If you've end up at the bottom aver coming down waterfalls and ziplining, you have to start by getting up. 

Sheri's task along the mountainside started by going down, but ended going back up. And when you're bigger, you take the gravity and loose rocks a lot more seriously than when you're not. It's a lot easier to slip and fall going down hill when you've got more weight, so you have to brace yourself harder as you go down.  And then I think Sheri had to climb a bit to get to the top of the dam to jump. 

[mertensia]

They had to climb up to get the clue and the milk can at the beginning.

[Fake Jan Brady]

Who do we think has more influence in the afterlife? Dusty's dad or the twins' grandmother?

 

 

[LennieBriscoe]

On 2/3/2022 at 12:21 AM, Lantern7 said:

That’s just me joking about being suspicious. @North of Eden made a good point about alpha teams. With the field as sparse as it is, Ryan & Dusty shouldn’t have fallen behind like they did.

But you're not joking; your "shouldn't have" shows that. 

But what does how many teams were left have to do with the guys' ineptness in making cheese? Their hubris (aka, wegotthis) hindered them. Luckily for them, they had the time and stamina to turn their luck around. 

 

[smartymarty]

18 hours ago, whiporee said:

And while wetsuits do float, they are very heavy out of the water

 

17 hours ago, Tango64 said:

Yeah, he was making a lot of excuses. But add a heavy, wet, constricting wet suit to the hiking, climbing, running parts and it would be an extra challenge for a guy like him. 

First of all, there are different types of wetsuits. The ones for deep scuba diving are thick. But I'm an (amateur) triathlete, and the ones made for that are much thinner. Neither soak in the water, so they're not so heavy out of the water. Constricting somewhat, yes (but they do have to allow for the wearer to swim!) but it did not look like they had the contestants in sizes as tight as triathletes would have. Besides not being in good shape, I think Akbar's big problem was that he wore boots instead of sneakers. Why he did so when putting on a wetsuit clearly signaled that he was going into water baffles me. Sneakers would be heavy in the water also, but would squeeze out a lot of that water once on land again. Boots wouldn't.

[whiporee]

2 hours ago, smartymarty said:

First of all, there are different types of wetsuits. The ones for deep scuba diving are thick. But I'm an (amateur) triathlete, and the ones made for that are much thinner. Neither soak in the water, so they're not so heavy out of the water. Constricting somewhat, yes (but they do have to allow for the wearer to swim!) but it did not look like they had the contestants in sizes as tight as triathletes would have

I think his looked thicker, which might have been an issue of finding one in his size. But even the light ones are are still heavy. Not the hundred pounds he was claiming, but at least six or seven. As for the boots, I know that if I wear the wrong kind of footwear for the wrong situation, my feet hurt. My lighter sibling doesn't have that problem. So he might have just been adjusting to that -- and all-around cross trainers and those kinds of shoes are also sort of hard to find at size 16. Not justifying, because he and Sheri might have been the worst actual racing team in the history of the show. But I can also see how this season's tasks might have been tougher on them than what you'd see in a normal race.

That said, they were tired on the first part of the first leg running through London. Again, a weird casting choice for the show. Especially when they know there are going to be challenges (like the bungee jumping) he won't be able to do because of his size/weight. If they want to make the race winnable for people of non-athletic body style, they ought to cut back on the more cardio dependent tasks they've had. Not that they should, but people of larger sizes aren't going to be able to really compete if they are going to be as cardio focused as they've been this year. 

Edited February 5, 2022 by whiporee

[Scatterbrained]

Well, I am enjoying this new version of the race.  It may not be as “Race-y”, but I am enjoying the slower pace, seeing teams interact and bond more, seeing more of Phil (welcoming the teams to the plane), and seeing another part of the world and the fun things you can do there.  

[Roccos Brother]

This might be the first time in TAR history that I actually like all of, or at least don't mind any of the teams. I'm talking from an entertainment aspect, not as actual individuals. It's been a good cast overall this season, no one is particularly annoying. Not sad to see Sherri and Akbar go, it was their time, but I didn't mind watching them either. Sherri's expressions when she realized Akbar was last in the roadblock were hilarious and a total mood. Loved that she was still very sweet and supportive towards him afterwards.

Also loved the flight attendants teasing Ryan/Dusty for flexing, basically expressing what we all thought at home. And glad to see my favorites Arun/Natalia still in it, even though I don't think they will last much longer.

Edited February 5, 2022 by Roccos Brother

[Shermie]

On 2/4/2022 at 3:03 PM, whiporee said:

 

I think Akbar was a dick, but as a large guy, a lot of these tasks that seem easy to smaller people can be really tough on big ones. There have been a LOT of stairs to climb this season, and no tasks where being physically strong could be helpful. They were a weird casting choice this year -- everyone else is at least in some way cardio fit, and both of them were big people who were going to struggle with all of these fundamentally narrow challenges. 

 

I disagree. Tall people have advantages on staircases since they can take the stairs two at a time, thus halving the number of steps. Trust me, my husband is well over 6 feet and when we walk places, he has way fewer steps than me because his legs are longer. 

Plus, Akbar and Sherri had an advantage no one has ever had - they got to experience the physical demands of the race, and then had 19 months to get in better shape before returning to it. 19 freakin’ months! And they didn’t drop one pound or apparently make any effort to increase their stamina. 

I’m not going to rag on the producers for casting them. If anything, I’m perplexed by Akbar and Sherri for even applying for the race, given their lack of physicality.

[ByaNose]

The biggest problem with Akbar was he kept saying they were Division I athletes blah, blah, blah. The operative word is were. Dude! That was 20 years ago. Stop living your younger years because you are no where that now which obviously showed on the race. I’m glad he’s gone because I like everyone else left in the race. 

[whiporee]

3 hours ago, Shermie said:

disagree. Tall people have advantages on staircases since they can take the stairs two at a time, thus halving the number of steps. Trust me, my husband is well over 6 feet and when we walk places, he has way fewer steps than me because his legs are longer. 

You're still climbing the same amount, and lifting the same weight the same distance. You might take fewer steps, but it doesn't diminish the energy used. 

[Shermie]

Fewer steps taken = less energy expended.

[Rootbeer]

10 minutes ago, Shermie said:

Fewer steps taken = less energy expended.

I'm pretty sure that work equals force x distance.  And energy is what allows us to do the work.  The number of steps doesn't matter if you're traveling the same distance.  Taking longer strides or going up stairs two at a time expends more energy per step and it ends up being the same.  

Now, because Akbar is considerably heavier than the other racers, his 'force' is going to be greater because it takes more energy to move 5lbs of weight than it does to move 10.  So, in the end, Akbar needs more energy to perform tasks that involve moving his body from one place to another.

Edited February 7, 2022 by Rootbeer

[greyhorse]

Only fitting that Akbar was the one to get them eliminated.  All the griping about his out of shape wife, and guess what?  Big 275 pound dude is just as out of shape.  We just didn't know it because he didn't do any of the physical roadblocks.  Seriously, how out of shape and unfit to race was this couple?  Just terrible.  He got passed by an old Indian dad who wasn't physically imposing.  At least we didn't have to hear him say something about how they were former athletes.  I know in their exit interview, he said something about "leaving it all on the court", but that's after they already lost. Kudos to Sheri for being the supportive wife, even though it wasn't reciprocated in earlier legs when she was the one at fault.

Dusty and Ryan taking off their life jackets at the mat.  Raquel making the comment about how they just wanted to show off their muscles.  Both of them making a face to the greeter who gave the thumbs up.  Quite a hilarious exchange.

Disappointed that the mule task seemed so easy and the mules were so cooperative.  After putting the saddle on, it was just a short walk to the same cheese place.  Racers heard "mule" and got all scared.  Seemed like the mule walking would have only taken a few minutes.

Pink twin complaining that Raquel didn't wait for her.  Puhleez.  It's a RAAACCCEE!

Basically finishing first gets you $5000 and then a 15 minute head start.  You could crush the leg, finish 3 hours ahead of everyone, and still only get a 15 minute head start.  Something is wrong about that.

[ProfCrash]

I listened to Kim and Penn's podcast on Thursday, they are very protective of Akbar and Sheri. They specifically were talking about the shape that Akbar and Sheri were in. They said that Akbar and Sheri were swamped during the lockdowns because they moved from their school program to feeding the community. They doubled the number of people that they were providing for because their community was hard hit by COVID. That meant that they didn't have time to train.

Not certain that I buy that, they were in crappy shape before the Pandemic. I know that they are busy with work and their charity but I would argue that you cannot care for others until you care for yourself and a part of that is taking care of your physical well being. the two of them will have a lot less time to take care of others if they don't take care of themselves sometime soon. The Race should have been the perfect excuse for starting the process of getting in shape and the two of them did nothing. Not before the first start or the restart. 

There is suppose to be an interview with Akbar and Sheri but that has not dropped yet. 

Penn did say that the canyon task was fun but not easy. He said the rock slides where not exactly smooth or easy to go down and that some of them were hard to see where you land and the impact wasn't easy on the knees. He didn't make it seem like it was very hard but that it wasn't easy and it bothered his knees. Akbar's extra weight and lack of cardio fitness would make it really challenging. 

 

[Netfoot]

5 hours ago, greyhorse said:

Seriously, how out of shape and unfit to race was this couple?  Just terrible.

I do think they were in poor shape for the race. But it isn't the first time that seriously unfit people have been cast. 

While I would prefer that racers were not in terrible shape, I wouldn't want the cast to be selected only from young, strong, athletic, gym-subscription holders who run marathons. I like the fact that the cast is usually diverse in age, education, physicality, stamina, and etc.

We have had instances of the young, flighty, 110 lb. female teams trouncing the fully developed muscular weight-lifters who called them "low-hanging fruit". So, while I feel A&S were physically poor racers, I won't say they should have been denied the chance to shine in other areas.

1 hour ago, ProfCrash said:

I listened to Kim and Penn's podcast on Thursday, they are very protective of Akbar and Sheri.

I am not even slightly interested in what K&P think about it.

[greyhorse]

1 hour ago, ProfCrash said:

I listened to Kim and Penn's podcast on Thursday, they are very protective of Akbar and Sheri. They specifically were talking about the shape that Akbar and Sheri were in. They said that Akbar and Sheri were swamped during the lockdowns because they moved from their school program to feeding the community. They doubled the number of people that they were providing for because their community was hard hit by COVID. That meant that they didn't have time to train.

Not certain that I buy that, they were in crappy shape before the Pandemic. I know that they are busy with work and their charity but I would argue that you cannot care for others until you care for yourself and a part of that is taking care of your physical well being. the two of them will have a lot less time to take care of others if they don't take care of themselves sometime soon. The Race should have been the perfect excuse for starting the process of getting in shape and the two of them did nothing. Not before the first start or the restart. 

 

40 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

I do think they were in poor shape for the race. But it isn't the first time that seriously unfit people have been cast. 

While I would prefer that racers were not in terrible shape, I wouldn't want the cast to be selected only from young, strong, athletic, gym-subscription holders who run marathons. I like the fact that the cast is usually diverse in age, education, physicality, stamina, and etc.

Sure, they were busy with their work and doing good for their community.  Kudos to them.  But they surely saw the trouble they had before the race was suspended.  Find 30 minutes in a 24 hour day to walk on the treadmill and commit to getting in better shape.

But nobody knew when the race was going to restart.  Without a goal and date in mind, it was likely hard for them to be motivated.  It could have been 2 months, 12 months, or in this case 19 months.  They probably figured they'd get to it next week, or next month.  And then 17 months later they get a notice that said the race will resume shortly.  Too late then.  Contrast that to Dusty and Ryan who walked mountains every day, getting stronger, and staying motivated.  Eye on the prize.  People might not like the alpha male teams, but there's a reason why they are often more competitive than the others.  Preparation is half the battle.

And what physically imposing tasks really have there been so far?  Akbar and Sheri struggled at basic things.  Such as WALKING (Sheri in the city and couldn't keep up.). The mountain trail didn't seem particularly hard as nobody was really struggling.  But it was uphill for at least half of it.  Both of them struggled with stairs, which I'll give them a pass because everyone did due to how many there were.  And then Akbar and the canyoneering which really was just minimal rock scrambling.  It's not like these tasks were picking up huge tires and flipping them.  None of them required any amount of brute strength.  Perhaps after they see themselves on tv, they'll get a treadmill and start walking at an incline of 2%.

Not expecting a team of alpha males or ultra fit competitors.  This isn't American Ninja Warrior.  But a certain level of fitness seems to be required.  Going to guess that Akbar is the heaviest competitor easily.  Yes, he's big like a power forward or defensive lineman big.  But that's it.  He's not fit.  Guessing he enjoyed his humble pie.

[Shermie]

Quote

Sure, they were busy with their work and doing good for their community.  Kudos to them.  But they surely saw the trouble they had before the race was suspended.  Find 30 minutes in a 24 hour day to walk on the treadmill and commit to getting in better shape.

But nobody knew when the race was going to restart.  Without a goal and date in mind, it was likely hard for them to be motivated.  It could have been 2 months, 12 months, or in this case 19 months.  They probably figured they'd get to it next week, or next month.  And then 17 months later they get a notice that said the race will resume shortly.  Too late then. 

Although when the pandemic shutdowns began, everyone assumed it would be 2 weeks, then a couple months before things returned to normal. The racers would also have assumed that the race might commence in a few months, once the pandemic was over (ha!) and the plans could be made. Nobody assumed back then that we’d still be in this nonsense 2 years later. So if Akbar and Sherri wanted to get in better shape, they should have assumed they’d be called to resume the race within a few months. We know now that that was not the case, but they didn’t then. And really, I would have thought their experience on the first couple legs might have been an eye-opener, race or not. They’re relatively young, so making some lifestyle changes at this point would have long-term benefits.

Plus, serving crowds of people takes fitness and stamina too. I used to cater weddings and there was a lot of heavy lifting and hours of walking in one day. I’m surprised A&S wouldn’t have had a fitness revelation when that workload doubled.

Oh well, I didn’t find them enjoyable to watch because of all the petty bickering, so I’m glad they’re the ones who are gone.

[AZChristian]

3 minutes ago, greyhorse said:

Sure, they were busy with their work and doing good for their community.  Kudos to them.  But they surely saw the trouble they had before the race was suspended.  Find 30 minutes in a 24 hour day to walk on the treadmill and commit to getting in better shape.

They could have spent 30 minutes a day eating less.  Even if they hadn't spent that time on a treadmill, they would have had less weight to carry.

 

[KittyMom4]

On 2/3/2022 at 10:43 AM, Haleth said:

Every time Akbar bragged about being Div 1 athletes I’d remind him that was 20 years ago.

I am always befuddled by people who don't understand how time, age and lack of exercise takes a toll on your body. You may have been the best Division Athlete in the world but you haven't maintained that training regimen, how can you possibly think you are still in good shape? 

On 2/3/2022 at 10:00 AM, blackwing said:

As far as physical fitness, I would think that every team that wants to be on the race should know that they should be in good shape.  Akbar and Sheri were perhaps the most un-fit team in recent history.

Agreed. They had the advantage of 18 months to get their strength and endurance up after seeing how physically demanding the Race is. They seem like nice people who are doing good things for their community, I hope they continue to do well. 

Edited February 7, 2022 by BexKeps

[smartymarty]

7 hours ago, greyhorse said:

He got passed by an old Indian dad who wasn't physically imposing. 

On one of their podcasts, Kim and Penn mentioned that Aran is in great shape -- he apparently smoked Penn on a foot race.

3 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

They said that Akbar and Sheri were swamped during the lockdowns because they moved from their school program to feeding the community. They doubled the number of people that they were providing for because their community was hard hit by COVID. That meant that they didn't have time to train

 

44 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

They could have spent 30 minutes a day eating less.  Even if they hadn't spent that time on a treadmill, they would have had less weight to carry.

 

Yes, when I worked 8 hours days, went to school 3-4 hours every night, and did homework all weekend, I did not have time to overeat (and I managed to swim laps once a week). BUT, Sheri did look like she'd lost weight. Her chest looked much smaller, less bouncy.

[ProfCrash]

I would have thought that their performance on the first three legs would have been enough to tell them that they needed to focus on their health regardless of the race restart. Finding 30 minutes to go for a power walk and being more careful about what you eat is a change that they could have made regardless of needing to be in shape for the race. When they got the call that CBS was looking to restart the race, they could have moved from 30 minutes of power walking to alternating 30 minutes of bodyweight strength classes and power walking. Those smaller changes probably would have dropped 20 pounds, or more, and put them in a better place for the race. Heck, it would have been better for their general health.

I am sure that they both have some amount of physical damage caused by playing a sport at a high level. Penn mentioned that Akbar has knee issues. Basic weight loss would help his knees, regardless of the race.

Look, they have busy lives but they are not prioritizing their own health. it showed on the race and should have been a wake up call 2 years ago. The taking care of the community excuse is great but is an excuse. Find the time to care for yourself. The side benefit would have been better performance in the race. At the very least, Akbar might not have been passed by Arun and lost this last leg of the race. They were not likely to get to a place where they would beat the Bros or maybe Kim and Penn. But they could have been in a better place to race against Arun and Natlia and maybe the FA or Twins, neither of which stand out as being amazing athletes. 

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, greyhorse said:

Find 30 minutes in a 24 hour day to walk on the treadmill and commit to getting in better shape.

They don't even need a treadmill. Just a walk around the neighborhood would be beneficial.

1 hour ago, greyhorse said:

But nobody knew when the race was going to restart.

Let's face it, after their performance in the early legs, they should have been motivated to get into better shape even if they knew the race was never coming back.

56 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

Finding 30 minutes to go for a power walk and being more careful about what you eat is a change that they could have made regardless of needing to be in shape for the race.

Thank you!

 

[AZChristian]

I think the only exercise they've gotten recently is polishing their trophies and looking at their scrapbooks from their college days.

If I had a chance to win $1,000,000 for completing challenges . . . I think I'd work on my physicality a bit.

[Netfoot]

7 hours ago, Rootbeer said:

I'm pretty sure that work equals force x distance.

No expert, but I can't help thinking that the human machine is not 100% efficient. So for each step, there may be some expenditure of energy which does not directly go towards moving X mass Y distance. Whether this extra expenditure favours many short steps or fewer longer ones, I can't say. But I doubt the calculation is as straightforward as the basic equations I learned in school.