This was the strongest performance of an "older" team ever in an Amazing Race. I know that Gretchen and Meredith made it to 4th place in AR7, but they got many breaks on the way. Bill and Cathi got the breaks of surviving last place in a NEL and a TBC, but their physical fitness was very impressive. Cathi's mental acuity was also pretty impressive. The other older teams to be considered here are Ron and Marcy in AR15 and Barry and Fran in AR9, but neither team had the performance of Bill and Cathi.