The Amazing Race > The Racers
♥♥♥ TAR14: Victoria Pfeifer Hunt & Brad Hunt ♥♥♥
TARAsia Fan:
--- Quote from: puddin on March 03, 2009, 05:54:26 PM ---This can be shared :<3, thank you Amazing Racers!
Written by Brad:
--- End quote ---
Thanks for sharing that, puddin! :jumpy: :jumpy:
Thanks for explaining, Brad. I hope you'll make it over to RFF soon! :jumpy: :jumpy:
puddin:
Brad and Victoria's race turns foggy
Lindsay Zier-Vogel, CTV.ca
A lot of people complain about weather, but Brad and Victoria Hunt have more reason to than most. After starting fifth on the last episode of The Amazing Race, the middle-aged married couple from Ohio attempted a shortcut from Munich to Bucharest, Romania by detouring through Amsterdam. Not only did they miss their flight, every single airplane was grounded due to severe fog.
"Our situation was dire, but we were hoping someone else's was even worse," Brad tells CTV.ca. "The waiting part was the hardest because we really didn't want to think."
To keep themselves occupied, they used their time at the airport downloading maps of Romania and different train stations so that once they finally arrived, they'd be prepared for anything.
"We kept ourselves focused on what we needed to do instead of spending time thinking about 'woulda, coulda, shoulda' or anything like that," Brad says.
Hitting the ground running
When they finally got out of the Amsterdam airport, Brad and Victoria hit the ground running. "That last leg was our best one. We knew what we had to do and everything clicked that day. We made no bad decisions and we were totally a team together, no arguing or bickering. We had a really great time," Brad says.
Once they made it to Bucharest, the couple travelled to the National Sports Complex to 'access their inner Nadia (Comaneci),' by performing gymnastics routines on the balance beam, parallel bars and tumbling mats in a white leotard.
"Apparently, I have some internet fans who wanted me to wear the gymnastics outfit," Brad laughs. "I spent a lot of time being a runner and a marathoner so I'm comfortable in short shorts, but Vic has a bit of a gymnastics background as a child, so she was obviously the right choice to do that one."
His highlight of the day was finally getting to the graveyard for the final challenge --smashing frames over stakes while wearing headlamps in the dark.
They were then told that they were the last couple to complete the challenges and would be heading home.
The Amazing Relationship
Where many people have sought Brad's advice on applying for the show, he is adamant that the show is not a travel show, nor is it an extreme adventure show. "It's a relationship show," he insists.
"It doesn't matter if you only speak one language, if you've never even left the States or travelled to 40 countries. Doesn't matter if you're an extreme sports fanatic or a couch potato. It's about the dynamic between the two racers that makes it interesting," he says.
And he credits the communication between him and Victoria as their ultimate success in the competition. "We had had some bickering earlier on in the race, and it took a day or two to get that sorted out.
"The good thing about Vic and I is that she's willing to own her stuff and I'm willing to own mine.
"I tend to get tunnel vision and task oriented instead of paying attention to her feelings, which is fairly typically male, but then she takes it personally and feels like I'm offending and disrespecting her." Their solution? Talking it all through. "I have to own my part of it and say, 'Okay, I'll work harder at listening to you,' and she has to try to not take it so personally when I get brusque," he explains.
Brad's highs and lows
Once Brad and Victoria sorted out how to communicate on the race, they had to deal with always having a camera present. "You get used to that pretty quickly, but it just emphasizes the fact that you're being watched," he says.
Communication and cameras aside, the biggest challenge part of the show for Brad was the stress. "We were completely unprepared for it," he says, citing the constant travelling and lack of sleep, language barriers and traversing of many different time zones. "Even the road signs were hard to understand," he laughs.
"There are just so many small things, things like getting to a train station in a different country and not knowing what the procedures are. It's all just little things like that that pile up," he says.
But the challenges in no way rivaled the highlights of Brad's Race experience. Without hesitating, he says his top moment was the very beginning of the race: "Up until that time, it was just a fantasy to have been picked to be on The Amazing Race, but then we were standing there and I was so excited.
"You can hear it in my voice when I said, 'We're going to Lorcarno, Switzerland.' I was practically in tears at that moment."
And the awe didn't end there. Because Brad had done some mountain climbing years back, the train ride through the Alps astounded him. "I just never thought I'd ever be there. It was fabulous."
Moving on
Forget fog and grounded airplanes, since they've been back in the States, Victoria and Brad have had more than their share of bad news. Victoria hurt herself running down a mountain in the episode before they got stuck in Amsterdam and will be facing hip surgery this coming summer.
"She's such a trooper," Brad beams, then discloses he has recently been diagnosed with cancer. "I have my own set of challenges ahead of me," he says somberly.
"There's a certain amount of regret in that we didn't win and went home earlier than we wanted to and there are some things we wish had happened differently," Brad says. But after receiving his cancer diagnosis, he's been able to put things into perspective and see his time on The Amazing Race as a great experience.
Still travelling
The Amazing Race might be over for Victoria and Brad, but hip surgery and cancer treatments won't keep them from travelling. The next stop on their list, India.
"It's just so much different from the United States in every possible way. And within India, there are so many areas that are so different from each other," he says.
But the way they travel is much different than it ever was on the show. "Usually, we like to go to out of the way places and just poke around. We rarely go with an itinerary."
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/show/CTVShows/20090306/amazingrace_brad_Victoria/20090306/
puddin:
I've been OUTED :-[ :jumpy: :wohoo:
"Apparently, I have some internet fans who wanted me to wear the gymnastics outfit," Brad laughs. "I spent a lot of time being a runner and a marathoner so I'm comfortable in short shorts, but Vic has a bit of a gymnastics background as a child, so she was obviously the right choice to do that one."
puddin:
And darn it Brad & Vic, your getting me all teary eyed, again :'( , their interviews come from the heart :luvya: :ghug:
TARAsia Fan:
--- Quote from: puddin on March 06, 2009, 02:41:50 PM ---I've been OUTED :-[ :jumpy: :wohoo:
--- End quote ---
For a minute, I thought you giving me a secret message. :lol:
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