***SPOILERS***



1. The top three teams all leave the Pit Stop within 10 minutes of each other. And with a few task exceptions, those three teams were pretty evenly matched. Although to hear Phil say that Colin/Christie came in 1st six times was pretty impressive. That fact makes me really interested in an All Stars TAR - I’d like to see the top teams from all of the seasons compete against each other - now that would be some good reality TV. Can you imagine the entertainment of FloZach and Colin/Christie competing for Most Hated team status? Because while I would rank FloZach as the #1 Hated Team, I’m thinking C/C might give them some good competition. But then there’s Wil/Tara - actually, C/C may be more like Wil/Tara.



2. OK, so Chim leave at 3:46am; the Moms leave at 3:50am (I think, I kind of missed their time); and the Babies leave at 3:57am. Amazingly, C/C made up a lot of time despite the Yield and the broken ox hilarity - they depart at 4:02am. I was cracking up at “Chip Time” being over and “Kim Time” starting. Then Nicole made some remarks to show her more competitive nature - I’m thinking that the chicks were a tad bit more competitive mentally than their partners. Oddly, the chicks didn’t do much to help out physically as the Race wound down.



3. Find the Philippine Flag: For future Racers here’s a little advice - study country flags. This isn’t the first time they’ve had a task that involved knowing the flag of the country they were in. Study the obscure countries, they’re not going to have you identify the flag of France, it’s going to be Bangladesh or something similar. Here’s where following another team is both good and bad strategery - the Babies followed Chim out of laziness, imho. I didn’t like that Chip lied to them when they asked if he had the clue, but when you’re down to four teams, you should not expect to get help from the competition - even if they’ve helped you in the past. At this point it’s all about the million dollars.



Meanwhile, the Moms and Colin/Christie in their hunt for the flag are also doing the tandem thing. However, the Moms take the bold risk of actually searching for the flag themselves after the first flag is revealed as not correct. It was a risk that turned out well for them. So the Moms are now in 3rd and Colin is complaining about not getting a guidebook on this leg. I’m thinking that was part of the strategy of the producers - the task needed to be a challenge.



4. Roadblock: Beware Vertigo - there’s going to be some cliff climbing. Here’s where I was dumbfounded that Racers didn’t know what “vertigo” means. It’s not like it’s an obscure word that’s hardly used - it’s the title of a movie, fer cryinoutloud. My notes say, “Brandon is cute but dumb.” I was willing to cut him a little slack since he’s young, but I knew what vertigo meant in junior high school, so...But then the Moms also asked what vertigo meant and I just sat there in astonishment. People need to read more.



Brandon is the first up the rope, followed by Chip. Let me say that Chip is a stud - he’s done pretty much every Roadblock while Kim stood by looking pretty and shouting encouragement. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that as a chick I’d be happy to let my male partner do all of the physically challenging tasks, but I’d like to think that I wouldn’t in actuality. Anyway, the Moms get to the cliff in third place and Karen has a hard time climbing the rope. Brandon and Chip finish pretty quickly and are off to the Pit Stop inthe kayak - short leg, probably intentional to make the last leg more dramatic. Colin/Christie arrive at the cliff when Karen is about halfway up. Christie is feeling and acting pretty smug - she knows that Colin will be able to power up that rope. Meanwhile, Karen is fading and I know that all of America was rooting for her to keep going while Colin was closing in fast. But alas, Colin did pass her. I was highly amused when Colin tipped their kayak when he stepped into it.



Linda was great - both were clearly disappointed, knowing they were going to be Philiminated, but Linda continued to shriek encouragement to Karen until she completed the task.



5. Pit Stop: The Babies arrive first and win a trip to the Caribbean. Chim arrive second. Colin/Christie arrive third. Phil looks so sad to tell the Moms that they’re Philiminated and I have to admit that I teared up a bit when Karen started talking about how Linda was her best friend and that she was so proud of how well they did. They should be proud - they did very well. And now we’re down to the top three teams. Who will run through the gauntlet of Philiminated Racers to the Amazing Mat first and win the cool million?



6. Leg 13 begins with the Babies departing the Pit Stop at 3:16am. Oh, and they’re still in the Philippines. Chim departs at 3:40am. C/C depart at 3:46am. Dang, but C/C are a really strong team to only be 6 minutes behind Chim. Next up - Calgary, Alberta, where they will need to snowshoe hike up Lookout Mountain to the top of the Continental Divide. Yay! Snow! We haven’t seen cooler weather since they were in Russia. All fly out on the same flight from Manila to Calgary - 8000 miles, wow - the beauty of bunching.



C/C are the first out of the airport, which is to be expected. The Babies are second with a lolly-gagging Chim last. All teams are dragging out winter gear and dressing in their cabs. I especially love the goofy maple leaf hats the producers gave them. C/C arrive at the mountain first and start the climb up the hill. Christie is struggling with the altitude, and I have to say that I liked how Colin offered to pull her the last bit up when it was clear that she was flagging. Of course, it’s easy to be kind to your partner when you’re back in the lead and can smell the money.



The Babies are second to the hill and Nicole is struggling as well. Here’s where I was amused - Brandon tells Nicole to picture Jesus standing at the top of the mountain with his arms open (or something like that). They cut to C/C where Colin is motivating Christie with the thought of the million. Interesting contrast in motivational tools there. At that point, both gals were having a hard time just breathing, so I’m not so sure how helpful either method of encouragement was for them.



OK, so C/C get to the top and the clue and hustle down the mountain. Colin is feeling cocky enough that he starts somersaulting down. I was waiting for him to break a limb, which would have been a crying shame. */sarcasm* They pass Chim, where Kim is doing well and Chip is struggling. Of course, Kim probably has all kinds of energy since she hasn’t done anything except travel and run on occasion.



7. Detour: (Mmmmm...Phil in winter gear. *drool*) Slide or Ride - luging or mountain biking. Who’s not going to luge? Oh, wait - that would be the Babies because Brandon is a wuss. But we’ll get to that in a sec. C/C power through the luge and move on. The Babies get to the detour and the debate ensues - Nicole wants to luge, but Brandon is hesitant so they decide to bike. Now, as Miss Alli calls it, Killer Fatigue has set in and Nicole has a complete breakdown because she can’t control the bike and they are having a hard time finishing the task. So after a few attempts to do the bike task they switch to the luge task. How many times have they switched tasks? I’d be willing to bet that if they had gone with the task that Nicole wanted to do every time they ended up switching, they might be the winners. They lost a lot of time on a lot of legs with this switching business - future Racers take note.



Babies finish the luge and Brandon admits they should have done that in the first place. *sigh*



Chim get to the luge and have to do it three times before crossing the finish line. I think Chip’s girth was the problem. Anyway, they get their clue and are off…



8. Calgary to Dallas, TX and the Amazing Finish Line: C/C and the Babies book the same American Airlines flight. Colin suggests that they book a taxi to meet them in Dallas and prep their stuff to check their bags - they won’t need all of their stuff since they know this is the last leg. Pretty smart - or is it?



Turns out that Chim get the benefit of arriving at the airport late because they learn that the American Airlines flight has been delayed by 2 hours - the other two teams are at the hotel already and have no clue. Chim book a United flight that connects in Denver. They get to the hotel to find the others packing up their stuff in boxes for checking and are feeling pretty smug about their inside knowledge. In the morning, they sneak out while the others sleep and are checking into their flight when the Babies arrive. Babies learn about the delay and see Chim at the United desk and try to get that flight - but no go, because it’s overbooked. C/C arrive and learn of their problem. The two late teams manage to get on the Denver flight on standby and they have checked their bags through to Dallas on the other flight since they won’t need them. So all three teams depart from Calgary to Denver together.



But in Denver, while Chim get on their flight to Dallas, the others are told that they can’t fly on any flight other than what they had checked their bags into. FAA rules dictate that they have to travel with their stuff. So the Babies and C/C are on a flight that’s scheduled to arrive about 20 minutes later than Chim’s.



I’ll say it again, the airport is a Race maker or breaker. More teams have been Philiminated because of travel troubles, bunching, miscalculations than because of problems with tasks.



9. Hello, Dallas! I had to chuckle when Christie bit the dust running through the Dallas airport. Anyway, Chim arrive and get a cab to take them to the Stockyards where they have to navigate a maze to get a picture from a box then backtrack to another box to get a key to open the glass box that hold the final clue. Chim looks pretty disorganized while mazing, but manage to get the clue and they’re off. Their taxi is pulling out of the lot when C/C arrive. Now, say what you will about Colin, but he does display some street smarts on occasion - he tells Christie to look for landmarks and to always turn left in the maze. I’m not sure that’s the best strategy, but it seems to work - they get the clue and are off. The Babies arrive and maze at the same time with C/C - they bump into each other. But the Babies get their clue last and they’re off.



Three taxis, navigating Dallas traffic to the park where Phil and Phiminated wait with great anticipation for the final Racers to come running for the Final Mat. Chim are in a sedate taxi-van and are stuck in a bit of traffic. C/C have a driver who is clearly excited at the prospect of being on TeeVee, his wanton breaking of the laws of driving notwithstanding. I wonder how much longer he’ll have that chauffer license. The Babies are worried about their driver, who seems reluctant to drive fast - I think his quote was something like, “This isn’t a race track.”



Taxis driving, Phil and the Mat, views from taxi windows...who’s first? The suspense is killing me! Please don’t let it be Colin and Christie.



And we see a cab stop at the red and yellow Amazing Routemarker Flag. Who? WHO?



Around the corner come...it’s Chip and Kim! Chim wins! Chim wins! Chim wins!



All (Ok, maybe only most) of America is ecstatic. Phil looks like a proud papa. Chim are sucking wind and crying as Phil tells them that they are the first to arrive and winners of $1M.



Colin/Christie are second and Phil tells them that they are one of the most competitive teams ever on TAR, with which I have to agree. Colin was very gracious to Chim, which earned him some redemption points with me. The Babies arrived last. I’m interested to know how much time was between the teams’ arrivals.



And another season of The Best Reality Show is over. But we only have to wait about a month for Season 6. Yay!