The Amazing Race 11


The Amazing Race 11 is the 11th installment of the American reality television show The Amazing Race. The Amazing Race 11 featured eleven teams of two – ten returning teams from previous editions, and a dating couple who had met and competed against each other on a previous season – in a race around the world.
The eleventh season premiered on February 18, 2007 at 8:00 p.m. EST, 7:00 p.m. CST, for one hour, and the season finale was on May 6, 2007. A DVD was released on May 1, 2013, courtesy of Amazon's CreateSpace program.
Dating couple Eric Sanchez and Danielle Turner, who had competed on opposing teams on The Amazing Race 9, won this edition of the race. They were the first team in the American version to win a season without relying on a Fast Forward or a Yield, and also the first winners to win only the final leg of the Race.

Production

Development and filming

As early as 2004, there had been talk about an all-star edition, with speculation that it would occur during the eighth season, as with Survivor. These rumors were fueled by reports that season 4 winner Reichen Lehmkuhl had been invited to appear in a future all-star race. Speculation continued for the next few years, particularly after CBS aired all-star editions of their two other reality competition series, and Big Brother. On September 28, 2006, CBS ordered an 11th season of The Amazing Race; in November 2006, the network officially acknowledged that an all-star edition was in production. Host Phil Keoghan was originally skeptical that an all-star edition was feasible. Over time, Keoghan felt that "as we got more and more really good teams, it just seemed like it had to happen."
This season traveled a little over, across 30 cities and six continents and was the second season to visit every continent except Antarctica. The new locales visited in this season were Ecuador, Mozambique, Poland, Macau, and Guam. This was the last season in the American series to feature the Yield. This is also the last season that did not either start or finish in the Greater Los Angeles Area until The Amazing Race 30. This season was the first since season 5 to feature the 13 legs and the final season to date to featured the concept, as the next three seasons featured 11 legs and subsequent seasons featured 12 legs.

Cast

The 11 teams were selected from past contestants among the first ten seasons. Keoghan personally submitted a list of 15 teams that he thought should return. Ten of them were chosen. The team he didn't choose was Eric & Danielle, who did not previously race together. Keoghan said, "I didn't think of that new combination, which actually is a really good one." He also added that the production team's goal for the race "wasn't to pick the best racers", but "to pick the teams that have earned the most attention over the last 10 seasons". Despite the "All-Stars" title, only one team, Uchenna & Joyce, had won a previous season. Some former racers were angered by their omission from All-Stars, most notably Chip and Kim McAllister, and BJ Averell and Tyler MacNiven, who publicly criticized CBS' casting process.
The full list of returning teams are:
Rob Mariano competed a third time on ', finishing in 13th place, and a fourth time to compete on ', which Rob went on to win. Rob & Amber later both returned to Survivor to compete on ', where they finished in 17th and 20th place respectively. Rob Mariano also returned for a non-participating season in ' alongside Sandra Diaz-Twine as mentors. On May 23, 2016, Rob Mariano appeared on a Survivor-themed The Price is Right primetime special.

Marketing

This season introduced the Elimination Station, featured on the official website. A series of 13 web episodes presented the eliminated contestants living together in a common house in their sequester location in Acapulco, Mexico. The series was viewable only in the United States and was available on the Innertube video streaming service on the CBS website, with a new episode debuting immediately following the airing of each new Amazing Race episode in the Pacific Time Zone.

Results

The following teams participated in the Race, each listed along with their placements in each leg and relationships as identified by the program. Note that this table is not necessarily reflective of all content broadcast on television, owing to the inclusion or exclusion of some data. Placements are listed in finishing order:
  1. Kevin & Drew received a penalty for not taking the car they used during Leg 1 when they departed on the second leg. It is unknown how long the penalty was, or when it was served.
  2. Dustin & Kandice initially arrived 4th, but they had missed the clue to the Detour, having simply arrived by chance at one of the options. They were forced to backtrack and retrieve the missed clue at the Detour and return to the Pit Stop. This did not affect their placement.
  3. Uchenna & Joyce initially arrived 3rd, but were issued a 30-minute penalty for being "marked for elimination" and not arriving 1st. This did not affect their placement.
  4. Two legs contained unaired Roadblocks. It is only known that Danielle completed the one in Leg 7. Images from CBS' official website show Mirna and Danielle completing the one in Leg 13.
  5. Due to an Intersection, Uchenna & Joyce and Oswald & Danny were able to work together to complete the Fast Forward, thus both teams were able to skip all remaining tasks and head directly to the Pit Stop; both teams were declared 1st.
  6. Joe & Bill initially arrived 5th, but were issued a 30-minute penalty for being "marked for elimination" and not arriving 1st. Eric & Danielle checked-in during the penalty time, dropping Joe & Bill to last place and resulting in their elimination.
  7. Uchenna & Joyce missed a connecting flight in Frankfurt and did not arrive in Kuala Lumpur until hours after the other teams had already checked-in at the Pit Stop. They were not shown performing any of the tasks, yet were shown only proceeding from the Batu Caves Route Marker directly to the Pit Stop for elimination. Joyce confirmed in a post-race interview that she had done the newspaper recycling Roadblock prior to being eliminated. Her unaired performance is included in this tally.
  8. Eric & Danielle initially arrived 2nd, but were issued a 30-minute penalty for being "marked for elimination" and not arriving 1st. Charla & Mirna checked-in with approximately 14 minutes left of their penalty time, dropping Eric & Danielle to 3rd.
  9. Oswald & Danny had been "marked for elimination"; however, since they checked-in last, they were eliminated without the 30-minute penalty being issued.

    Episode title quotes

Episode titles are often taken from quotes made by the racers.
  1. "I Told You Less Martinis and More Cardio" – Oswald
  2. "Beauty Is Sometimes Skin Deep" – Charla
  3. "I'm Sorry I'm Wearing a Bathing Suit; It Is Very Weird, I Know" – Mirna
  4. "No Babies on The Race!" – A letter from Jeremy and Dani to Eric & Danielle, read aloud by Eric
  5. "You Need to Watch Your Jokes, Guy" – Joe
  6. "We're Going to Trade You for Food Now" – Oswald
  7. "If I Were in Town, I'd Ask for Your Number" – Oswald
  8. "If I Were in Town, I'd Ask for Your Number" – Oswald
  9. "The Way You Look, Yeah" – A local in Kuala Lumpur to Kandice
  10. "We Are Trying to Make Love, Not War" – Mirna
  11. "Good Doing Business With You" – Dustin
  12. "Oh My God, the Teletubbies Go to War" – Oswald
  13. "Low to the Ground, That's My Technique" – Charla

    Prizes

Unless otherwise noted, prizes were awarded to the first team to check in for each leg. All trips were provided by Travelocity. The prizes were:
The first five teams eliminated were sequestered at a villa in Acapulco, Mexico to await the finale. Subsequently, eliminated teams telephoned the villa to inform those teams at the villa of their elimination, but continued to run the Race as decoys to throw off spoilers to the final outcome of the Race. The sequestered teams met with the decoy teams in the final destination city to cheer on the final three teams as they crossed the Finish Line.
CBS posted short videos on its website after each episode aired in the Pacific time zone to show the eliminated teams interacting at the villa.

Leg 1 (United States → Ecuador)

Airdate: February 18, 2007
The first Detour was a choice between Wrangle It or Recover It. In Wrangle It, teams had to help local cowboys lasso, tie down, and groom one wild horse, which had grown hooves too long to walk properly. Team members had to use traditional tools to clip its hooves to a safe length and to trim its mane and tail. When the horse was released, teams would receive their next clue. In Recover It, one team member had to put on an historical military uniform. Then, teams had to search a field for three items missing from the uniform, an epaulette, a button, and a sword, to receive their next clue from a general.
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Airdate: February 25, 2007
In the first Roadblock, one team member had to enter the ground floor of the corporate headquarters of Codelco and search the boardroom for letters of the alphabet. Teams needed to figure out that the majority of the letters, when unscrambled, would spell one of the ten destinations inscribed on the plaques hanging on the wall. When they believed they had the solution, which was "Chuquicamata", they had to show their answer to the security guard. If they were correct, he would hand them their next clue.
The Detour was a choice of By Hand or By Machine. In By Hand, teams had to choose a two-ton tire and, by properly aligning the bolts and washers, finish securing it to a dump truck. When the work was complete, a foreman would hand them the next clue. In By Machine, each team member had to take a turn driving a huge front loader to transfer gravel. When teams moved enough gravel to cover a marked yellow line on a stick, a foreman would hand them the next clue.
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Airdate: March 4, 2007
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to choose an fish-breeding tank, jump in, and catch and transfer all 80 flounder from the breeding tank to a holding tank at the other end of the farm. Once finished, their clue would be revealed at the bottom of the tank.
The Detour was a choice between Vertical Limit or River Wild. In Vertical Limit, teams had to walk to a cliff where both team members needed to complete a rock climb. Each team member would grab half of their clue at the top. In River Wild, teams had to backtrack to the banks of Rio Petrohué, where they would complete a two-and-a-half mile whitewater-rafting course, through level 3 and 4 rapids. After completing the course, teams would find their next clue.
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Airdate: March 11, 2007
The Detour was a choice between Navigate It or Sign It. In Navigate It, teams had to use a map of Punta Arenas to find the Plaza Muñoz Gamero, where a sailor would hand them a compass. Then, using the compass, the teams needed to walk directly south to the Nautilus Building, a deep-sea salvage business, where a provider would give their next clue. In Sign It, teams had to choose a pole and building supplies and carry them up a flight of stairs to Ferdinand Magellan's map. Using this map as a reference, teams needed to determine his expedition's circumnavigation of the world began and ended in Seville. They then had to build a traditional local signpost listing in order the fourteen ports-of-call on his voyage. While the signs didn't have to point in the right direction, all the cities had to be spelled correctly. When they completed the signpost, they would receive their next clue.
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member was to search through 1,600 pieces of mail from a mailbag to find one of two letters addressed to their team. The team member then had to read the message inside the letter to their partner, after which they received their next clue.
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Airdate: March 18, 2007
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to guide a rat to find a Race flag above a deactivated landmine. Once their rat gave the signal that it found something, an Apopo Mine Technician would search the area. When the Race marker was found, the team would receive their next clue.
The Detour was a choice of Pamper or Porter. In Pamper, teams had to travel a half-mile to the Maputo Central Market, choose a nail-polish kit, and convince people to pay them to paint their nails, which in Maputo is a job usually performed by men. Teams needed to earn at least 30MT to receive their next clue. In Porter, teams made their way to Mercado Janet, where they would use their bare hands to fill ten bags with coal and sew them shut. Then, teams had to carry one of the bags to a specified address where the owner would hand them their next clue.
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Airdate: March 25, 2007
The Detour was a choice between Solve It or Schlep It. In Solve It, teams had to make their way one-third of a mile to the Beyt al Chai hotel, where they would put together a 62-piece puzzle. Once the puzzle was correctly solved, and recreated an image from the tinga tinga style of local artwork, teams would receive their next clue. In Schlep It, teams made their way to the Kijangwani Lumber Yard. Once there, they had to choose a local handcart, load two logs, then take them more than a mile to a dhow shipyard. When they delivered the logs, teams would receive their next clue.
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to learn how to use a traditional Maasai wooden weapon called a rungu. They had to throw the weapon at a clay target to shatter the target and reveal their next clue hidden inside.
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Airdate: April 1, 2007
The Detour was a choice between Perfect Pitch or Perfect Angle. In Perfect Pitch, which commemorated Frédéric Chopin, teams had to make their way three-quarters of a mile to the Prymas Palace and choose a grand piano. Then, they had to use the provided tools to tune one key of the keyboard. Once the concert pianist played a piece of Chopin's music and determined that their piano was in tune, he would hand teams their next clue. In Perfect Angle, which commemorated Marie Curie, teams made their way approximately half-a-mile to the Escada Boutique, obtained a mannequin, and carried it another to the Panoramik Laboratory. Once there, teams had to use an x-ray machine to locate a clue embedded inside their mannequin, which needed to be positioned at a very specific angle for the image to show the name of their next destination.
An unaired Roadblock involved team members having to row a boat out onto the reflecting pool from the park to the palace.
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Airdate: April 1, 2007
In the first Fast Forward of the Race, one pair of newly joined teams had to climb the stairs of the fire guard tower of St. Mary's Basilica and the Town Hall Tower located in the Main Market Square. They had to count how many stairs there were, add these numbers together, and present the total number to a guard atop the fire guard tower. If they had the correct answer, both teams would win the Fast Forward award.
In this leg's Detour, the newly joined teams faced a choice between Eat It Up or Roll It Out. In Eat It Up, the Intersected teams had to make their way one-and-a-half miles to an old market. Once there, each team member had to use traditional methods to make a length of Polish kiełbasa sausage. The teams would then be served of cooked kiełbasa. Once each person ate of sausage, the teams would receive their next clue. In Roll It Out, the Intersected teams had to make their way one-and-a-half miles to the J. Mazurek bakery in the city's Kazimierz, the Old Jewish Quarter, and properly roll out twenty bagels. When finished, they would carry a delivery of fresh bagels one-quarter mile to Klezmer Hois, and receive their next clue. Once teams completed the Detour, they were no longer Intersected.
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to don a full suit of authentic medieval armor, then lead a horse a half-mile through the forest to the castle gates. Once at the castle, they had to deliver the horse to the stable boy, enter the courtyard, and search for the Pit Stop.
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Airdate: April 8, 2007
In this leg's Detour, the choice was between Artistic Expression or Cookie Confection. In Artistic Expression, teams had to travel one-third of a mile on foot to Dewan Lama, where they had to use a traditional technique known as batik to exactly duplicate one of three patterns onto a piece of cloth. Then they had to dye the cloth to the satisfaction of the artisan, who would give them the next clue. In Cookie Confection, teams had to travel on foot a half-mile to Chow Kit Bomba, locate a marked stall, and search through 600 boxes of traditional Malaysian festive cookies by biting into the cookies to find one with a black licorice center and receive their next clue from the cookie vendor.
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member would become involved in Malaysia's eco-friendly practice of paper recycling. Team members had to choose a bicycle with an attached side cart, then scour the neighborhood for residents willing to give them their used newspapers. Once they had collected enough newspaper to make a stack approximately high, they would receive their next clue.
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Airdate: April 15, 2007
The Fast Forward required one team to travel to a film set located at the former Kai Tak Airport, where a high-speed stunt was being filmed for an action movie. They had to get in a car with a stunt driver and complete a stunt course, which involved sharp turns and the car flipping-over. After completing the stunt course, the team would win the Fast Forward award.
The Detour was a choice between Kung Fu Fighting or Lost in Translation. In Kung Fu Fighting, teams had to travel to Tonkin Street and find the former Cheung Sha Wan Police Quarters. Once there, they had to climb an 11-story bamboo scaffold, while avoiding a mock battle between kung fu stuntmen, to reach the top and retrieve their next clue. In Lost in Translation, teams needed to make their way to Kowloon City and find Nga Tsin Wai Road. Once there, they had to search among hundreds of similar-looking Chinese characters store signs for the specific one "滿玉時裝晚裝" shown in the clue. When they found the matching store, the owner would hand them their next clue.
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to kick down doors in the old building of the former Kennedy Town Police Headquarters and search for their next clue.
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Airdate: April 22, 2007
The Roadblock had one team member perform the world's tallest skyjump by first walking around the outer rim of the observation deck before taking a tethered jump off the Macau Tower to fall to the ground. When they landed, they received their next clue.
The Detour was a choice between Noodle or Dragon. In Noodle, teams had travel to the factory of Fábrica de Sopa de Fita Weng Kei inside Edificio Fabril Veng Kin, choose a noodle making station, and use traditional methods to flatten and cut dough into two bundles of Chinese noodles. Teams must do it properly to receive their next clue. In Dragon, teams had to travel to a warehouse, obtain a dragon head and drum, and carry them three-quarters of a mile to the harbor at Nam Van Lake. There, they had to attach the dragon head to a matching dragon boat and deliver the drum to the boat's master to receive their next clue.
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Airdate: April 29, 2007
The U.S. Air Force-inspired Detour was a choice between Care Package or Engine Care. In Care Package, teams made their way to a warehouse, chose a loading station, and filled packages with various humanitarian aid items for a neighboring island. Once complete, teams would then board a C-17 Globemaster and participate in an airdrop training exercise, which would take at least a half-hour. When they landed, the load master would hand teams their next clue. In Engine Care, teams had to clean an engine pod on a B-52 bomber, and scour the associated flap section on the wing. When the sergeant was satisfied with their work, a maintenance officer would hand teams their next clue.
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to perform a search and rescue mission. Using a handheld GPS receiver, they had to navigate through the jungle. Team members had to find one of four training officers, who provided co-ordinates directing them to the landing zone. Then they used a radio and smoke grenade to signal a rescue helicopter to pick them up. The helicopter brought them back to their partner, where they received their next clue.
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Airdate: May 6, 2007
The final Detour was a choice between Under or Over. In Under, teams had to swim into an underwater cave and retrieve a clue anchored to the cave's floor. In Over, teams had to use a paddle board, and paddle together to reach a buoy that had their next clue.
After the Detour, teams had to travel by boat to a sea cliff where one team member had to complete a Roadblock of jumping off of a cliff to receive their next clue. This task went unaired in the episode.
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Canadian ratings