Amanda and Kris fall victim to another U-turn on 'Amazing Race'
by: Sheri Block
The irony of being eliminated from “The Amazing Race” due to another U-turn is not lost on Amanda Blackledge and Kris Klicka.
After being the last team to finish a starting line challenge, the engaged couple from Pismo Beach, Calif., accrued an automatic U-turn. And just like their previous appearance on Season 14, having to complete both sides of the next Detour challenge cost them the race.
“It was kind of our own fault. We screwed up, not thinking clearly at the starting line and as a result we gave ourselves a stupid U-turn again,” Kris tells CTV.ca over the phone.
“They showed a little clip of me saying, ‘Yeah we just screwed ourselves over.’”
Kris and Amanda are one of 11 fan-favourite teams who have never won “The Amazing Race” but have returned for Season 18 to clear up some “Unfinished Business."
It would be reasonable to assume that some of this “unfinished business” for Amanda and Kris would include getting back at the team that contributed to their elimination the first time around -- Margie and Luke. Both teams competed on Season 14 and after being blind U-turned by the mother and son, Amanda and Kris were ultimately the eighth team to be eliminated.
But Amanda says there were no hard feelings between them and Margie and Luke.
“Everyone kind of assumes we hate them because they U-turned us but we don’t hold a grudge, we let that go a very, very long time ago so it wasn’t like we were ready to get them back or anything,” she says.
It doesn’t mean, however, that Kris and Amanda haven’t learned from that experience.
Both members of the engaged couple felt they were too naďve and trusting the first time around and vowed to just look out for themselves on the most recent season.
“We got lied to a lot about the lamest things really. We said we weren’t going to trust anybody, we were going to get our own information and if people share information with us and we have some time, what’s the hurt going and double checking it?” says Amanda.
As well as learning not to trust anyone, Kris says they also picked up some other valuable tips from their first time around -- pack more snacks.
“Last time I remember being so hungry, being in these different places and watching your camera crew eat McDonald’s in front of you and you’re going, ‘Oh my God can I have a bite of that hamburger?’” says Kris.
Kris adds it was also a completely different experience this time due to the fact all of the other teams had played before.
“You can kind of prepare yourself, in a sense for what’s happening. Everyone was super competitive (and) we knew a lot of the other people. It was a different dynamic,” he says.
It was also a different dynamic between Amanda and Kris -- who were just dating at the time.
“I was nervous going into the first season because I couldn’t find a team in the past that hadn’t argued,” says Amanda. “No matter how much we get along, I was scared of, ‘What is this going to do?’”
Amanda and Kris ended up getting along great, which made the couple realize they were meant to be together.
They have since gotten engaged and are looking at 2012 for a wedding date. Even though they haven’t figured out all the details yet, one thing has definitely been decided for the honeymoon -- they won’t be “racing” around to different destinations.
“I think we’re probably going to stay in one place a little longer,” says Amanda with a laugh.
http://shows.ctv.ca/TheAmazingRace/article/Amanda-and-Kris-fall-victim-to-another-U-turn-on-Amazing-Race
