The Amazing Race > The Racers

♥♥♥ TAR14: Amanda Blackledge & Kris Klicka - Dating

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georgiapeach:

I love these guys, and really admired how well they worked together! The exact opposite of  a "bickering couple" thank goodness!



Fancast Exit Interview:

The Amazing Race: Kris and Amanda Would Have Won If It Weren’t For That Meddling Luke



The Amazing Race’s Kris and Amanda seemed to have every possible advantage in the competition.  They are young, in fantastic shape, and, perhaps most important, have a healthy, functional relationship.  Unfortunately, the other teams felt the same way.  So depending on how you look at it, deaf recent college graduate Luke either tarnished his halo or displayed keen strategic instincts by blind U-turning the duo.  Kris and Amanda ultimately couldn’t make up for last time.  The two chatted with fancast about their regrets and why they’re convinced that, if it weren’t for that U-turn, they’d be a million dollars richer.

How far behind the other teams were you when you got to the Pit Stop?

Amanda: We weren’t ever really sure.  We thought that they were way ahead of us when in fact production mentioned that it was a difference of about ten minutes.  We’re not sure if that’s accurate but it looks about right.  It looks like Michael and Mark got held up because they had to beg for money to pay their taxi.  We didn’t know that.  Rebuilding the wood stack took more than ten minutes so we definitely wouldn’t have come in last if we didn’t get the U turn.


When did you realize that Luke and Margie were the ones who U-turned you?

Kris: We didn’t find that out until we went to sequester.  The team that arrived after us told us.  Until that point we were in the dark.  We thought it was Kisha and Jen because in Romania we’d gone out to lunch. Afterward Margie came up to us and told us that at her table Kisha and Jen were talking about how if the U turn came up they were definitely going to use it.  Margie was telling us they thought they wouldn’t want to use it because it’s a low blow.  So we thought it was Kisha and Jen for the longest tome and feel bad now.

Amanda: That’s why Margie and Luke were the last team we assumed would do something like that. Literally the day before she went out of her way to tell us she would never use it.  That’s very unnecessary.  Why would you go out of your way to make a point then turn around and do the opposite? That was hard for us to grasp.  Later on they apologized and she told us that her reasoning was that she was only speaking for herself not Luke.

Why do you think they selected you out of all the teams that were behind them?

Kris: I think they saw us as a threat.  When Luke put our picture up there he said that we were strong.  I think that was his motivation.  Plus for some reason they had this huge alliance with the redheads who were struggling at the wood pile.  They thought that by u-tuning us they’d give the red heads a shot at staying in the race.

Amanda: But it turns out the redheads actually finished the task and we didn’t so they really didn’t need to U turn us.

Sounds like you two still harbor a bit of animosity about the U-turn.

Amanda: You try not to take it personally but what you have to realize is we were already in last place.  We looked at the board and as soon as we saw our faces we knew there wasn’t a chance.  Of course you’re going to be a little bitter in the heat of the moment.  This is a race for a million dollars.  There are countries we’re missing out on going to.  We forgive them but like I said it’s kind of hard to grasp because it cost us so much.

Kris: It sucks losing the race not because of something we did but because we got U turned.  I think we would have won the whole thing because we were really getting the ball rolling and working together really well.  I think at that point it was a bummer because it’s not like we were making all these huge mistakes.

Amanda, during the wood stacking task, the other teams characterized you as standing around while Kris did all the work.  Was that accurate?

Amanda: Absolutely not! I was really bothered by those comments.  What happened was we were both stacking but then the wood got to a point where I couldn’t reach the top.  Kris is almost a while foot taller than me.  So it really was a disadvantage to be short.  Then we realized that we had to put certain shaped pieces of wood in certain areas in order to make it work because it had to be perfect. So Kris and I decided together that it would be smartest and fastest if I picked out the specific pieces of wood that we needed and handed them to him.  Then he could place them. It just came across as me not doing anything.  They shouldn’t have been concerned with what other teams were doing.  I thought that was kind of unnecessary.

Kris: For the record, Amanda was kicking ass.

Why was it so hard for everybody to find the house where you were supposed to install the shutters?

Kris: The map that they gave us for that was not every good.  It has a little red dot and there were a bunch of lines for little street areas but the street areas weren’t accurate.  It was a crapshoot on which street to take a right on so we were walking around going up every street but at the same time we were carrying the ladder and all the shutters.  It was a big pain in the butt.

Amanda: It was hard too because Mark and Mike had been there for hours before we got there. So when we arrived Mark and Mike are explaining to all of us that, “We’ve looked everywhere.  We don’t know where to go.” We’d be walking and they’d be like, “We already went down that street.” So it was a question of whether we break off and go down that road and try and recheck or do we go to the areas that they haven’t checked yet? It was difficult and the stuff was so heavy and the big boots they provided didn’t even fit.  There were so many factors of the confusion there.

What moment of yours on the Race do you wish had made it on to the television show?

Kris: I wish they’d showed more of the interactions between the teams.  There was a lot of really cool stuff on train rides and taxis.

Kris: In the very first episode when Kris was getting strapped in to do the bungee jump I couldn’t talk to him at that moment because he was getting lectured by the trainers on what he was supposed to do.  Mel came up to me and Preston and Jennifer and asked if he could borrow twenty Swiss francs because they had the money and it was in U.S. dollars.  Jennifer and I both said yes because he had the money he just didn’t have it on him.  I gave him the francs.  Jennifer and Preston didn’t have the change so they couldn’t help him out.  Kris and I were the only ones who lent someone money and they never showed it at all.  I think that shows a lot about a team.  We were trying to help them out.  They were nice.

Kris: They also didn’t show that I wasn’t very happy when I got back.  I was like, “That’s the dumbest thing you could ever do.”  At the end of the leg when we got to the Pit Stop we had run out of money for our taxi.  We checked in then went back to beg for money to pay for our taxi.

Who did you consider to be your biggest competition on the Race?

Kris: Before we left L.A. we weren’t allowed to talk to any other teams but we were observing everybody else.  We actually thought that Jennifer and Preston were our biggest threat because they were the same type of group as us: the strong male and the girl.  We thought we had the best balance because he’s got all the physical assets and I can keep up with him.  Also we’re both really smart.  We both are natural leaders.  For all we knew, they were the same way.

Kris: I never really saw anyone as a threat.  I looked at it like, “We’re going to go through and kick butt.”  I think the Race is 80% luck based on getting the right taxis and flights.

After you were eliminated, who were you rooting for?

Amanda: We started to root for Mike and Mel just because they’re such good guys.  They were so nice to us.  At one point on a plane I was sitting next to Mel and I felt really nauseous.  He was rubbing my back, trying to give me food and help me out.  They were in it to win it like anyone else but they weren’t mean to anyone.

Kris: They were in it for the fun and the adventure. We were too.  A lot of the other teams were more cutthroat.

How did going on the Race change your lives?

Amanda: It’s an experience we’ll never forget.  It’s something we did together.  It will forever be the craziest thing we’ve ever done.  It will be something we can tell our children about someday.  I think that’s what’s important.

Kris: I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

What advice would you give to future racers?

Kris: Do not trust anything that you hear.  There were so many things we heard from people that we believed which is something I am so mad at myself for doing.  I should have known better, like with the whole Margie thing. During the beginning of the Race there was a rumor that the blondes were working by themselves.  They didn’t want to work with anyone.  That was a rumor we heard.  It wasn’t true.  As a result in the last episode I said they were untrustworthy.  I shouldn’t have made those assumptions.

Kris: Stay calm and collected.  Sit back and enjoy what’s going on rather than getting annoyed and flustered.  A lot of teams get so wrapped up in the moment.  One of things we did really well was stay calm.

http://www.fancast.com/blogs/the-amazing-race/the-amazing-race-kris-and-amanda-would-have-won-if-it-werent-for-that-meddling-luke/

marigold:
An interview with Amanda and Kris:

Amanda and Kris don't make the cut in Siberia

Amanda Blackledge and Kris Klicka appeared to be unstoppable when the fourth leg of The Amazing Race 14 kicked off. But, when the young couple got to Siberia and realized that another team had taken advantage of a new twist in the game — the blind U-turn — their hopes of winning the race were quickly dashed. "We were working really well together, but at that moment everything fell apart," Kris tells In Touch. Even more upsetting was finding out that their friends Margie and Luke were the team that U-turned them. "We were completely shocked," Amanda tells In Touch. "We definitely felt like it was a low blow," adds Kris.

What was your first impression of Siberia?
Kris: It was cold and everyone there drank a lot. In the airports, you'd see people drinking booze at 5 in the morning!
Amanda: That's one of the first things we noticed.
Kris: Also, the people were really nice everywhere we went. It was a very interesting culture to see.

Did you drink with them?
Amanda: No, no no.
Kris: All we wanted to drink was water at that point.

How did you feel when you found out that Margie and Luke were the team that U-turned you?
Amanda: We were completely shocked. We didn't find out until a week later, when the next eliminated team showed up at elimination station and they set the record straight and told us who had done it. We were totally stunned.
Kris: We definitely felt like it was a low blow.

I guess they felt threatened by you.
Kris: If you noticed when they put the picture of us up on the U-turn board, Luke did comment about us being really strong. So, I think that was their motivation for doing that. And they also wanted to make sure that Cara and Jaime would get through the wood task. I guess they U-turned us because they were looking out for the redheads.

They knew that you two would win if they didn't stop you.
Kris: We felt that way, too. We were working really well together and it just seemed like at that moment everything fell apart.

Did running the race bring you closer together as a couple?
Amanda: I definitely think it did. I mean having that shared experience will always be with us. This is something we can tell our children and grandchildren about some day.
Kris: Yeah, when she graduates and I get a job, we'll definitely start talking about getting married.

http://www.intouchweekly.com/2009/03/amanda_and_kris_dont_make_the.php

marigold:
Another interview:

The Amazing Race: Amanda & Kris Talk About U-Turn

College student Amanda Blackledge, 23, and her boyfriend, Kris Klicka, 25, a recent graduate trying to find a job in communications or media, were the fourth team eliminated from The Amazing Race 14. Strong competitors, they were delayed after a missed connection in Moscow and then brought down when slapped with a U-turn by Luke and Margie. The couple of more than three years talk about facing the U-Turn, why they were surprised it was who it was, and why they’re not get engaged (yet). – Carrie Bell

Is the U-turn the only reason we’re talking today?
Kris: Yes and it’s a real bummer. We went out not because of our actions or because of us, but because of a stupid U-turn.
Amanda: Which was totally out of our control. Other than that, we were a pretty good team.

When and how did you find out it was Margie and Luke?
Amanda: We found out from another team when we were sequestered. We were really shocked and thought they were a little deceitful. What they didn’t show was that we all went to lunch in Romania the day before this, and we were split into two tables. After lunch, Margie approached Kris and I and said, “Just to let you know that we were talking about the U-turn at our table and every team, including Luke and I, said we would not use it unless absolutely necessary except Jen and Kisha. They said, ‘You’d be stupid not to use it.’” So when we saw the U-turn we naturally assumed it was them.
Kris: It turns out they never even said that.

Do you understand why they did it?
Kris: We felt like we definitely took a low blow. I understand it is a game, but they were already leaps and bounds ahead. It wasn’t a necessity for them to use it. They were not neck and neck with another team and needing to get them off their back.
Amanda: That’s why we took it personal. We can’t be bitter about it because it’s a legal part of the game. But a smart racer wouldn’t use it unless they absolutely had to because there could be another one ahead and no someone could turn around and u-turn them.

You were neck and neck with Mike and Mark. Don’t you think they would have used?
Amanda: Mike and Mark or Mel and Mike could have u-turned us. Almost every team that struggled with this leg, which was almost everyone, said that they couldn’t imagine u-turning someone because the tasks were so hard. I don’t know if they would have u-turned us.
Kris: After the race was over, they came up to us and told us how bad they felt for us. They were real sympathetic to us about the U-turn. I don’t think they would have.

Can you find some solace in the fact that people were afraid of how well you were running the Race and that’s why you were u-turned?
Kris: After it was all said and done, our outlook changed. It wasn’t because of our actions and it wasn’t because people didn’t like us. They picked us because everyone knew we were a threat.

Compared to other dating or married couples on the show, you seemed to work very well together and kept fighting to a minimum. Did the Race tested your relationship?
Kris: We are the kind of couple that is together a lot so we weren’t worried about getting sick of each other. That’s what I think happens to a lot of the dating couples. They can’t handle being with their significant other 24/7 without losing their mind.
Amanda: It definitely tested us and we passed with flying colors. There were little moments. We bickered but never had a big blowup.

Your relationship survived The Amazing Race and you said you’d like to spend your lives together. Have you gone the next step yet and gotten engaged?
Amanda: We are still pretty young and there’s no need to rush … We are really traditional so I want to wait until I am out of school — I have a little less than a year left — and until we are more stable. Kris hasn’t found a job since he graduated since the economy is so crappy right now. He doesn’t have money to buy a ring yet.
Kris: It’s really important to be stable when you get married so you can buy a house and all those things. We don’t want to be poor and living in the roach motel apartment.
Amanda: I bet if we had won we would be engaged by now because it’s really a money issue.
Kris: Yeah those other teams should feel bad for taking our ring money.

http://tvwatch.people.com/2009/03/10/the-amazing-race-amanda-kris-talk-about-u-turn/

georgiapeach:
ACCCK!

They may have been on Bonnie Hunt TODAY and not tomorrow--did anyone see?

puddin:
 :waves: NO , I watched and Bonnie showed a picture of Amanda & Kris and said tomorrow they will be on.

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