The Amazing Race > The Racers

♥TAR13 Mark Yturralde & Bill Kahler *friends*

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puddin:
Mark & Bill will always be my heroes! Rock on Skull Man and Yoda! I don't think you both can even begin to realize what a fan base you all both have  :jam:. Thank you for the weeks of entertainment  :bow: :hrt: :wine: :thankyou: :<3

"Do or do not... there is no try.” :vader:

Nuala:
You 2 will always be my favorite TAR racers.  You're the reason I would tune in to watch.  You're amazing!!!!

marigold:
An interesting article an interview with Mark and Bill:

Exclusive Interview: Mark and Bill, from 'The Amazing Race 13'

Mark and Bill were billed as nerds coming into The Amazing Race 13.  While they may have some geeky qualities, and tend to enjoy the things that nerds tend to enjoy, Mark and Bill were nowhere near the socially inept nerd archetypes that some viewers may have been expecting.  The long-time friends were two of the most approachable and socially able contestants on The Amazing Race, and enjoyed a ton of fan support as a result.  We got the chance to speak with Mark and Bill this morning about their time on the race.

Hey, this is Oscar Dahl from BuddyTV and I'm here with Mark and Bill from The Amazing Race.  Mark, Bill - how are you guys doing?

Mark:  Pretty great, Oscar.

Were both of you guys fans of The Amazing Race before you got on?  How did you end up getting cast on the show?

Mark: Yeah, we've been huge fans of the show since season one and we've been pretty much applying non-stop since season two.

Had you had any close calls before this last season? 

Mark: No, uh-uh.  This is the season where it where it all really kind of fell together.  It's kind of funny that this is also the first time where we did our video that we didn't try to do some cute skit or do something clever.  This is the video where we were just, "Oh, we did it in twenty minutes, just being ourselves and smacking each other in the head and goofing off” and that's the one they loved.

So, persistence pays off, then?

Mark: And being yourself pays off.

Was the race what you guys expected it to be?  What was the most different from what you expected going in?

Bill: It was everything we expected and the fact that we got to do these incredible things, go to these places we never expected to go.  I think that one of the things that it's hard to anticipate is just how much lying there is.  And how much you get your sleep schedule thrown off because you're checking in and then twelve hours later your checking out.  It does really crazy things to you.  The way you feel at the end of the day.

Mark:  It surpassed everything I hoped it to be.  We're standing on the field getting ready to go and Phil says “All right, get ready – go,” and my heart is racing, I've got the butterflies in my stomach and that's when it really dawns on you.  You've been applying for ten years and all of a sudden you're like "Holy crap, we're about to go on The Amazing Race."  We're going to run up those steps, get in a car and go to the airport.  Oookay.  There's going to be an exciting soundtrack when it goes on TV.  I was disappointed that the soundtrack wasn't always on.  It never followed me around, cause I was really counting on it to help me through the race.

With the taxi on that last leg, going to the detour, was the taxi a big time-saver?  Do you think if you guys had walked you would have beaten Kelly and Christy to the finish line? 

Bill: I think that it was pretty much a wash as far as how much actual time it took. I think that being able to just have a guy in the cab with us take us straight to where we needed to go and not have to run up the hill really got us a big lead at that point in time.  However, a lot of the dropping back that we did was just due to the route that our taxi driver chose up the mountain to the wrestling event.  I think that's what finally put the nail in the coffin for us.  I don't think it would have been quite half an hour, but it wouldn't have been much less.

They alluded to it a little bit last night, but dealing with that altitude in La Paz must have been absolutely brutal.

Bill:  It really was.  I've visited some places that were around 10,0000 feet in Utah, but when you're a person from sea level and we had just been at sea level, going to the 12,000 feet of La Paz is really very brutal.

Mark:  Ill tell you that I never in my life appreciated oxygen until La Paz, Bolivia. 

Bill:  I'm in my house now in San Diego, breathing wonderful sea-level oxygen thinking to myself "Ahh, yes."  It may not be apparent to people watching the show is the way La Paz is laid out.  That part that we were sleeping in in the middle of the street there, that's the lowest point in La Paz, the bottom of the valley there, that's where all the rich people live.  The Titanes ring is up on the plateau where all the poor people live and it's about another 1500 feet, 2,000, 3,000 feet up.

Mark: I remember thinking to myself on our way to the Titanes ring and we're going up and up and up. I'm looking up this hill saying to myself "You people are sick!"

Out of all the places you got to visit, what was your favorite?

Bill: I actually really did enjoy Bolivia. It was so different than anywhere that I've ever been to before.  I mean, I never really imagined that I would go to La Paz and so I was really glad that I got the chance because it was different, the way everything was laid out.  It was almost like this different planet, really.  The people that live in La Paz that are living in such vastly different conditions, both economic conditions and physical conditions. 

Was there anything edited out of the first three episodes that you wish viewers had seen?

Bill: I really wish people could have gotten to see more of Mark in action as the awesome social machine that he is.  Mark can get people to help him out and want to be his friend and do things for him.  There were several occasions where Mark was able to persuade people to do some things for us... they weren't giant things that were the difference between coming in first or coming in second but they were really helpful to us overall and I wish people could have seen that.

Mark: I would have liked to have seen Bill teach himself Portuguese on the plane ride to Brazil.  We're on a plane to Brazil, we sit next to this dude, we say “Hi,” he says “Hi,” we started to talk and he doesn't speak any English, we don't speak any Portuguese. He's like "You're going to Brazil?" and we're like "Yes."  He says “OK,” and he reaches and grabs this Portuguese to English phrase book and he hands it to Bill?  "Can we keep this?" and he's like "Yeah."  Bill proceeds to spend the next six hours literally nose buried in the book and I'll tell you this - I know a lot of smart people and Bill's probably the smartest guy I know, but I'm thinking "Maybe he'll memorize 'Where's the bathroom ?' and 'Where can I get a drink of water?"  We land and get in a taxi and he's like "We're in a race, we need to go here, please help us move faster,” and I'm like "Damn."

What do you guys have planned for the future?  Anything big?

Bill:  Mark has been just doing some really awesome stuff.  Mark?

Mark: When we got eliminated from the race I said, "You know, I'm tired of being the fat guy, I'm tired of being the guy who's always out of shape, I'm tired of the guy who's always wheezing after a brief run and that changes today."  At that exact second I made a major shift in how I work out and how I eat to the point where I've lost forty pounds from where I started the race.  I did my first 10k and I've gotten into competitive biking and I did my first century two weeks ago.  And, I'm currently training to do the Roadmaster K2 in New Zealand next year, widely considered to be one of the most difficult races in the world. 

Congratulations, man.  I appreciate you two taking the time and we wish you luck in the future.

Link: http://www.buddytv.com/articles/the-amazing-race/exclusive-interview-mark-and-b-23552.aspx

michael:
 :jam:
great interview...they rock.

marigold:
Another interview:

Mark Yturralde and Bill Hahler eliminated from 'The Amazing Race'

"Best Friends" Mark Yturralde and Bill Hahler began The Amazing Race 13 believing they had a mental edge in the competition, however following a mental lapse, the pair became the third team to be eliminated from the competition during last night's broadcast of the CBS reality series.

"We came into this thing thinking 'we can't compete physically.' We know that," Mark said after the pair were eliminated after receiving a 30-minute Pit Stop penalty for taking a taxi to a location they'd been instructed to walk to. "But we can compete mentally, and you'd think that we would read the clue and read it better."

"The Amazing Race is by far the hardest game I've ever played and running The Amazing Race with Mark has been just a wonderful experience," added Bill.

The Amazing Race 13's third episode began with the nine remaining teams leaving the Cidade da Crianca, a park in Fortaleza, Brazil that served as the location of The Amazing Race 13's Pit Stop for the previous leg of the race.

While resting at the park before departing on the Race's next leg, the "Divorcees" team of Kelly Crabb and Christy Cook clashed with the "Brother and Sister" team of Nick and Starr Spangler after they accused Starr of pushing some of their drying laundry off of a ledge. Although Starr denied their accusations, neither Kelly nor Christy believed her denial.

Following the mandatory rest period, the "Separated Couple" team of Ken and Tina Greene -- the first team to reach the previous leg's Pit Stop -- were the first to depart at 12:51AM.

After opening their first clue, Ken and Tina were instructed to take a taxi to the local airport and board one of two flights departing at the same time that would take them 1,200 miles to La Paz, Bolivia. Once there, they had to travel to a statue of Simon Bolivar and wait for the delivery of a newspaper which would contain an advertisement that would be their next clue.

Following Ken and Tina were Mark and Bill, who left at 12:52AM,  "Newly Dating Couple" Terence Gerchberg and Sarah Leshner  at 1:13AM, "Long Distance Dating Couple" Aja Benton and Ty White at 1:14AM,  "Mother and Son" Toni and Dallas Imbimbo  at 1:15AM, Nick and Starr at 1:17AM, Kelly and Christy at 1:18AM,  "Fraternity Brothers" Andrew Lappitt and Dan Honig at 1:22AM, and "Friends" Marisa Axelrod and Brooke Jackson, who also departed at 1:22AM.

While Ken and Tina were the first team to arrive at the airport, all the teams team arrived in time to catch one of the flights that arrived in Bolivia at the same time.

Upon arriving in Bolivia, the teams immediately had difficulty catching their breathe because of the high elevation of La Paz, which is nearly 13,000 feet above sea level.

Nick and Starr where the first team to catch a cab, with Mark and Bill right on their heels, however all of the teams ended up bunching back together at the Simon Bolivar statue, where they discovered their newspaper wouldn't be delivered until the next morning.

As the teams spent the night in front of the statue, Nick attempted to make amends with Kelly and Christy by saying that he did not think that Starr would have touched their clothing. However his attempt didn't seem to get anywhere as Kelly and Christy maintained their belief that Starr had done it.

After waiting out the night, the teams huddled around the newspaper stacks after their delivery the next morning and began looking for their next clue.

While all of the teams seemed to initially struggle, Andrew and Dan were the first to find the clue --which instructed them to travel to Narvaez' Hat and Shoe Store at the Plaza Murillo and buy a traditional cholita hat, after which the cashier would give them their next clue.

After Andrew and Dan snuck away from the teams to a cab without revealing their destination, Nick and Starr found the clue soon after and were then followed by Toni and Dallas.

Terrence and Sarah found the clue next, but enlisted the help of a local woman who guided them on foot instead of hailing a taxi. Mark and Bill found the clue next and decided to walk as well, but struggled with the high altitude and thin air.

Kelly and Christy found the clue next and were followed by Aja and Ty, who both hailed cabs and left Marisa and Brooke behind as the last team.

Andrew and Dan were the first team to arrive at the hat shop -- just slightly ahead of Terrence and Sarah -- and received a clue informing them it was time for the leg's two Detour options: "Musical March" or "Bumpy Ride."

"Musical March" required the teams to walk to two different plazas and gather members of a band.  Once they'd collected both parts of the band, they had to march them to a band leader who was waiting at a third plaza with their next clue.

"Bumpy Ride" required the teams to walk to another location.  Once there, they would have to board some local handmade wooden bicycles and ride down the city's cobblestone streets to a plaza where they would receive the next clue.

After completing the Detour, each team would also have to decide whether to use a U-Turn opportunity to force one of the teams still behind them to backtrack and do the Detour's other challenge before moving on.

Andrew and Dan were the first time to reach the hat shop and decided to do "Musical March" but became frustrated by how slow their band members were moving.

Terrence and Sarah were next and decided to "Bumpy Ride," as did Mark and Bill, who arrived third.

However Mark and Bill committed what bacame a fatal error when they took a taxi to the bicycles instead of traveling on foot as the directions specifically stated.  Terrence and Sarah also made the same initial mistake and hopped in a taxi, however Sarah noticed their mistake and they returned back to the clue location and walked to the bicycles.

Marisa and Brooke were next to arrive at the hat shop and decided to do "Musical March." Using their pep, they were able to get their band to march quicker and passed Andrew and Dan.

Ken and Tina arrived at the hat shop next and decided to do "Bumpy Ride" -- as did Kelly and Christy, Nick and Starr, Aja and Ty, and Toni and Dallas, the last team to arrive at the shop.

Mark and Bill were the first team to finish the Detour.  After not deciding not to use the U-Turn, they received a clue instructing them to take a taxi to Los Titanes Del Ring.

Terrence and Sarah were barely able to hold off Ken and Tina, while Aja and Ty were able to surpass Kelly and Christy on the bikes as well. However none of the teams could beat Marina and Brooke, who finished their "Musical March" Detour task in second place.

Terrence and Sarah finished the leg's Detour in third place, followed by Ken and Tina in fourth place. Andrew and Dan finished the Detour in fifth, and were followed by Nick and Starr -- who elected to not use their U-Turn on Kelly and Christy but asked Aja and Ty to use it on them instead. Aja and Ty followed Nick and Starr, but chose not to U-Turn Kelly and Christy. 

Kelly and Christy finished the Detour slowly after Christy suffered a bad fall, however Toni and Dallas were still the last team to complete the bicycle ride.

After becoming the first team to arrive at Los Titanes Del Ring, Ken and Tina learned that it would serve as the site of the leg's Roadblock task.  Dubbed "Fighting Cholitas," the Roadblock required one member of each team to learn a routine with a female wrestler and perform it mistake-free in order to receive their next clue.

If there was a mistake in the routine, the team member would be forced to re-learn the routine before attempting it again.

Ken learned the routine quickly and performed it correctly on his first try.  Afterward he and Tina received a clue that instructed them to take a taxi to Mirador el Monticulo, a hilltop park that would serve as the location of the Race's third Pit Stop.

Marisa and Brooke arrived at the arena second, with Marisa volunteering to take part in the Roadblock. Mark and Bill arrived third, with Mark choosing to take part.

Tony and Dallas arrived fourth and Dallas volunteered to participate, followed by Terrence and Sarah (with Sarah participating), Nick and Starr (with Nick participating), Andrew and Dan (with Dan participating), Aja and Ty (with Ty participating), and Kelly and Christy (with Kelly participating).

Mark performed his routine second, but failed to do the routine correctly. After failing the routine a second time, he required oxygen to catch his breathe.

Marisa performer third and did the routine incorrectly as well, forcing her to go back and re-learn it.

Dallas performed fourth without error and moved his team into second place as they proceeded to the Pit Stop.

Sarah performed fifth but made an error that forced her to relearn the routine as well.

After performing his routine correctly, Dan moved his team into third place. He was followed by correct routines from Nick and Ty, who moved into fourth and fifth place respectively as they traveled to the Pit Stop. 

Marisa was successful in her second attempt, putting her team in sixth place. Mark finally succeeded on his third attempt and moved into seventh place. Sarah succeeded on her second attempt, allowing her team to move into eight place.

Kelly finished her routine successfully on her first attempt, however she and Christy still left the Roadblock in last place.

For the second consecutive leg, Ken and Tina were the first team to arrive at the Pit Stop.  As their reward, they won a seven night trip to Cabos and Lucas Islands and the chance to race in an America's Cup yacht match race.

Toni and Dallas were the second team to arrive at the Pit Stop.  Terrence and Sarah managed to find a fast cab and jumped ahead of five teams and finished in third place, with Marisa and Brooke following close behind in fourth place. Aja and Ty followed with a fifth place finish, while Nick and Starr finished in sixth and Andrew and Dan placed seventh.

While in the taxi to the Pit Stop, Mark and Bill realized their earlier taxi error and assumed they would receive some type of penalty upon their arrival at the Pit Stop. They were correct, as Phil informed them that they would have to wait 30 minutes before officially checking in.

Unaware of the penalty affecting Mark and Bill, Christy and Kelly worried that they were going to be eliminated, while also deciding that they would confront Starr if they successfully avoided elimination.

While Kelly and Christy did arrive last at the Pit Stop, they did so while Mark and Bill were still waiting out their penalty. As a result, the girls avoided elimination while Mark and Bill were eliminated from The Amazing Race by Phil.

"If we lost a footrace that's one thing," Mark said following his elimination. "But because we lost something on just not reading [the directions] right, that just kills me."

http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/mark-yturralde-and-bill-hahler-eliminated-from-the-amazing-race--7861.php

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