Is the Amazing Race Fair?

I've watched the Amazing Race off and on for the past 10 years. Every season, I think about applying. Why not? You can win 1 million dollars, you get to travel all over the world, and you don't have to go through what the contestants on Survivor go through. Plus, the contestants never look that bad. Seems like they get a break in between each leg of the race and while they are flying on the plane. So, all in all, I thought I could handle it.

This season, I watched it again closely after missing the application deadline. The Amazing Race application actually comes out about 2 weeks after the season begins. The application is out for a few weeks and then it is closed. So, if you are interested in applying, make sure you start checking online once the new season begins. So, instead of thinking about the application process, I watched the show to see if my boyfriend and I could really win. Each episode, I asked myself a few questions “Would I do what the contestants were doing?” “Could I do what they were doing?” “Would we be better than them?” and finally “How could we be better?”

This season of the Amazing Race was season 14. It followed the same format as past seasons. The contestants would go from point to point and do different challenges called “Road blocks.” Some of these were individual challenges while others were done in a team. So, I watched and watched and the one thing I concluded was that the race was not completely fair to certain individuals.

First, if you are not as physically fit, you will most likely not win the race. At least a few episodes had contestants running for more than a mile. One episode had the contestants running a mile in below 0 F temperatures! Another had them hiking down a mountain for at least 3 miles. So, if you do not work-out, do not apply.

Second, if you are not capable of lifting more than 50 pounds for longer than 10 minutes, do not apply. Usually, this weight was even heavier, but 50 pounds seemed to be the minimum. As a very small, petite woman, I lift weights at the gym. However, 50 pounds continuously for longer than a minute is very, very difficult. The season finale had the contestants sharing the weight of a pig that was about 150 pounds. That means, each contestant had to share the load and carry about 75 pounds. Some of the women contestants were quite tall, but the task was very difficult for them. For me, this task would most likely have been impossible. Plus, there was no alternative. If you couldn’t do the task, then you wouldn’t win.

Besides the physical endurance of the race, there is the mental challenge. Your partner is really important. Can you work with that person throughout the whole time? Will the two of you not stress out and kill each other first? Although this seems simple, when you are in a stressful situation, many things can happen. However, this is something you can control. You get to pick your own partner and apply with them. Therefore, this is a factor that is completely fair.

The first 2 things I listed are a bit unfair. Every season, the Amazing Race chooses a few older couples and a few teams of women. If you are older, you are just not as strong as when you are younger since your muscles degenerate slowly. If you are a woman, you just are not as strong as a man. Biologically, women were not given as much muscle as men. Therefore, is the race fair? I say “no, not completely.” Most of the challenges seem to be fair, but the ones that count on pure physical endurance seem to be skewed towards those that are more physically fit. Not only that, even if you can physically run 3 miles, you still will not be able to lift the type of weights and items that the race requires. If a woman wanted to work her way up her weight class to be able to lift 50+ pounds, she would have to train for a very long time. Even then, she might not get to that level of fitness, especially if she was required to lift 50+ pounds for more than 10 minutes. I know this is a reality show, but I still can’t understand why they don’t design the challenges to be fair to all of the contestants that are in the race. For once, I would like to see a different group win, maybe 2 older people or 2 women.