‘The Amazing Race’s’ Chris and Mary: ‘We wanted to make it to the second Pit Stop’
Chris Foster and Mary Cardona-Foster didn’t commit the biggest mistakes on the second half of the Mega Leg on “The Amazing Race 36,” but the father and daughter were already at the back of the pack and gradually fell further behind before becoming the second team to be eliminated. The oppressive heat in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, certainly didn’t help as Chris had to take a breather for a few minutes to collect himself.
“It was a very hot day that day. Dehydrated. It really was getting to a lot of people, even some of the more fit people were just really pouring sweat and feeling it. It hit me pretty hard. Mary gave me some liquid IV on the bridge and I kind of regrouped, but at that point we just wanted to finish the race,” Chris tells Gold Derby (watch above). “They didn’t show it, but right before that, we were walking up the stairs and both my calves cramped up. I had to sit down. I was drinking water, but she gave me some electrolytes and in five minutes, it really worked.”
Other than their struggles in the heat, the pair ran a pretty clean leg. They had their “directions on lock,” according to Mary, and never got lost heading to any location, unlike several teams. Michelle and Sean, and Kishori and Karishma accidentally skipped the Detour and did the Roadblock first until Juan and Shane corrected them. Michelle and Sean later got very lost going to the Pit Stop and squeaked out an 11th place finish, about 10 minutes ahead of Chris and Mary.
“I was pretty beat [and was] thrilled to make it,” Chris says. “We wanted to finish. We wanted to make it to the second Pit Stop. I didn’t want to quit halfway. I wanted to make it, whatever it took. I’ve seen other seasons where it looks easier than it really is. Just didn’t want Phil [Keoghan] to have to meet us on the bridge or not make it to the Pit Stop. It was a finished goal that we actually made it to the second Pit Stop. We were in last place, but we still felt great to see Phil for a second time during the race.”
And had this just been a regular second leg instead of a Mega Leg, Chris and Mary feel they probably would’ve survived the day given their lack of task and travel issues. “I think had it not been a Mega Leg — like I said, we really had our directions that second leg. We didn’t waste any steps or do any extra walking or had gotten lost,” she says. “So if we had time to rejuvenate, I think we probably could’ve gone up a few places and maybe beat those last few teams who were struggling to find the second Pit Stop because we didn’t get lost at all. And we would’ve had time to take a breather, settle down and rejuvenate for the next leg.”
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