“We were commenting on the facts” – An Interview with The Amazing Race 5’s Marshall and Lance

Viewers thought that brothers Marshall and Lance would be much like Ken and Gerard, or another Jon and Al from last season. That wasn’t the case at all. These two were much more opinionated, and proclaim that they always called it as they saw it. In this interview they discussed what was up with Marshall’s knees, why they thought they could win the whole thing, and if they finally put the past behind them and became friends with Charla and Mirna.

RNO: What kind of preparations for the race did the two of you make?

Marshall and Lance: We watched many old episodes of TAR, and developed our own strategy based on the success and failure of others. We also learned what to pack and what not to pack.

RNO: Was there a certain team that you consistently tried to work with? Which team would you say was racing the smartest?

Marshall and Lance: We formed alliances very early in the race with Colin and Christie, Chip and Kim, and Kami and Karli

RNO: Your team had a lot of bad luck (taxis that ran out of natural gas, flat tires, an awful time with the chocolate factory). Were there any episodes of good luck you can recall?

Marshall and Lance: We had great luck when we played roulette… we hit on the first number we played! This allowed us to leap from about four or five teams!

RNO: When you saw the other teams, did you think you had a shot at winning, or were you worried about the more athletic teams taking the lead?

Marshall and Lance: I think everyone was worried about the teams that were in great physical condition, and teams that you knew did a lot of preparation for the race. All of that went away when Erika and Dennis, and Donny and Ali were eliminated first and second. Those two teams should have been in the final three if you only looked at those two factors. When they were eliminated early, we knew that we had just as good a chance as any team.

RNO: Marshall, did you have any knee problems before the race, or was this the first time they manifested? Also, what did you do to combat the knee pain during the race?

Marshall: I have never had knee problems before and haven’t had any issues since. I think my knee problems were caused by a new pair of shoes that I purchased right before the race. I should have worn my old beat up sneakers! I saw doctors during the race, but tendonitis needs rest and ice… two things that are not available while running the race!

RNO: Did you see a doctor after the race, and what was the diagnosis?

Marshall: Acute Tendonitis… rest and ice fixed the problem in one to two weeks

RNO: Were you disappointed about the lack of Fast Forwards during the race?

Marshall and Lance: We were surprised by the lack of Fast Forwards, but we didn’t really mind. Until my knee problem occurred, we did not have a problem competing. We never really felt we were in last place and needed the FF.

RNO: It was pretty clear that your team didn’t get along with Charla and Mirna, although it doesn’t seem like many teams did either. Have you made up with the cousins?

Marshall and Lance: Absolutely NOT… I don’t want to be friends with miserable people.

RNO: During the first leg, how soon after getting the tickets for the slow flight did you realize your mistake?

Marshall and Lance: The issue with those tickets was that we got horrible info from American Airlines. Everyone at the AA counter was told that flight arrived first.

RNO: Just how quickly did you complete the roulette game in leg one? Did you know about the backlog of teams trying to use the zip line?

Marshall and Lance: We had a feeling that a few teams were on the roof waiting for the zip line. Therefore, we felt that doing the chips event wasn’t really wasting any time. With a little luck, we could jump ahead. We hit #3 on the first roll… we were in the casino for a total of about five minutes.

RNO: Did Linda and Karen approach any of the other teams for money? What would you have done if you were in their situation?

Marshall and Lance: Linda and Karen arrived at the hotel so late that all of the other teams were asleep. Therefore, they didn’t get to approach us for money. We were friends with a lot of teams that would have given us some money.

RNO: How far were you behind Linda and Karen at the Roadblock? Were you definitely too far away from them to even try to catch up?

Marshall and Lance: We were at least a couple of hours behind them… then we dug in the sand for over two hours. There was no catching them.

RNO: There were several instances where one, or even both of you, came off a little ignorant, possibly even rude to other cultures. Do you look back and think you were a little hard on foreigners?

Marshall and Lance: We were not ignorant at all. We are just “say it as we see it.” When people were useless, we called them useless. When people were miserable, we commented on it. We were commenting on the facts!

RNO: What’s the most important lesson that you learned from the experience?

Marshall and Lance: There are so many beautiful places in the world, you need to do everything you can to try and visit some of them in your lifetime!

RNO: Is there anything you would like to add or say to your fans? How about some behind the scenes stuff we didn’t get to see?

Marshall and Lance: We just want to thank everyone for the support. We have a packed house at our restaurant, Café Nostra, every Tuesday night for the viewing parties. We have gotten tons of emails from fans telling us how much they enjoyed watching us. We appreciate all of the support!

RNO: Thanks, guys!

Phil Kural is finally a college graduate! You can still reach him at pkural@temple.edu, but he’s not sure how long that address will remain his. When it changes though, you’ll be the first to know.