After nine countries, 59,000 miles, and two close calls with elimination, best friends BJ & Tyler won a seesaw battle against rivals Eric & Jeremy to claim the one million dollar prize. From Japan to Alaska and back to Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado, the two Teams traded positions as they had throughout the Race until BJ pulled ahead of Eric at the final Roadblock to score his Team a victory. After a series of navigational woes, dating couple Ray & Yolanda finished a distant third.
Departing the Big Swan Pit Stop at 12:18 am, BJ & Tyler began the last leg with a clue instructing them to fly over 9,000 miles back to the United States to Anchorage, Alaska. Returning the favor from several legs ago, the best friends left money for the destitute Ray & Yolanda before driving to Hotel Nikko to return their car.While waiting for the shuttle to the airport, BJ & Tyler used the Internet at the hotel to book a flight reservation to Alaska that landed at 10:53 am. After being told the hotel didn't have Internet service (because BJ & Tyler asked the clerk to say that), Eric & Jeremy actually secured an earlier flight on the phone that landed at 7:50 am.
At the airport, Eric & Jeremy eluded BJ & Tyler who tried following them everywhere to fly off in the lead to Anchorage via Taipei, Taiwan. However, their hard work was for naught as BJ & Tyler and Ray & Yolanda discovered a later flight to Taipei that connected to the same Anchorage flight as Eric & Jeremy.
Landing in a very snowy Anchorage, the three Teams opened clues on their vehicles instructing them to drive 30 miles to the scenic recreation area Mirror Lake. As the sun rose across the beautiful, frozen landscape, the Race heated up between the Hippies and the Frat Boys while Ray & Yolanda's navigational woes kept them squarely in last place. Pulling into Mirror Lake together, BJ & Tyler and Eric & Jeremy encountered their final Detour having to choose between Drill It and Deliver It. In Drill It, Teams needed to use an auger to drill ten holes in Mirror Lake and then push a shack across the lake to cover at least two of the holes in order to set up an ice fishing camp. In Deliver It, Teams had to load a bush plane with medical supplies and, using a map to navigate, direct their pilot to an airfield to deliver the supplies to a first aid station.Taking to the ice together, Eric & Jeremy and BJ & Tyler battled for ice fishing bragging rights as they used all the strength they had to drill holes through the thick ice. While BJ & Tyler started out strong, Eric & Jeremy's endurance pulled them ahead as they pushed their shack across the snow covered ice in first place. Opening their clue, they learned they had to drive 26 miles to Kincaid Park. Once there, they would put on snowshoes and, using a map, search the park for their next clue.
Still with a comfortable lead, Eric & Jeremy wasted little time walking through the woods to their next clue. Opening it, they learned they would be flying back to where the Race began: Denver, Colorado. Once there, they needed to travel 30 miles by taxi to Clear History Park in the town of Golden. Eric & Jeremy's solid racing skills again amounted to little as BJ & Tyler, who struggled to find the clue at Kincaid Park, and Ray & Yolanda, who struggled everywhere, booked the same flight to Denver with the friends. Eric sarcastically remarked, "We love being ahead and then just having everybody catch us."Landing in Denver, friends Eric & Jeremy again took the lead to Golden. Arriving at the Clear History Park, the friends searched through the snowy ground and discovered a clue hidden in the shed. Opening it, they discovered they had to travel six miles back to where it all began at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
With only a few minutes lead, friends Eric & Jeremy pulled into Red Rocks Amphitheater to discover the final task of the Race: a Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one Team member had to run into the field of 285 flags, find one flag for each of the nine foreign countries they visited on the Race and place them in the order in which they visited them. Once the Teams completed the task, they would have to run the flagged path to the finish line where the first Team would win one million dollars.With a million dollars on the line, Eric ran into the field, quickly grabbing flags for Brazil and Japan. Within minutes, the Race ended as it began when BJ & Tyler arrived at Red Rocks for a final showdown with the rival Frat Boys. As BJ began grabbing flags, Eric made his first critical mistake when he switched the order of Germany and Russia. While Eric continued to show signs of stress, BJ, with Tyler cheering him on, began collecting his nine flags at a faster pace, although nearly all were out of order. After collecting all of the flags, Eric had four incorrect, but did not know how to fix them. After another pass, he fared worse, now having six incorrect. Meanwhile, BJ snagged the Russian flag and started placing his flags in proper order as Eric had two incorrect. With Eric still trying to fix his mistake, BJ placed the final flag in order and the best friends received an okay from the judge to continue on to the finish line.
With the eight eliminated Teams cheering them on, best friends BJ & Tyler arrived at the snowy finish line where Phil informed them they had won the million dollar prize. An emotional BJ & Tyler shared a long embrace before the stunned pair, almost at a loss for words, said, "It's really unreal."Arriving in second place, friends Eric & Jeremy, while disappointed, said they cherished the experience they had on the Race. Eric remarked, "We've seen some more of the world and we appreciate the world a little more. You can go anywhere. It just takes the will to do it." Jeremy added, "We've traveled the world and we can decide, 'Where do we want to go next?'"
Coming in a distant third place, dating couple Ray & Yolanda told Phil their relationship was as solid as ever. Regarding her partner, Yolanda commented, "Ray, all through this Race, has been my source of motivation. I feel like he's my support. Ray's still everything that I believe him to be and I want him to be." Ray added, "Yolanda is the ultimate competitor. She's strong headed and that's why I've always been in love with her. She had her own mind. She's the only person I would have done this Race with."
Co-winner BJ noted, "I think that on this Race being cerebral doesn't help as much as being in the moment. It's just great to stay positive and really enjoy each other's company. Our friendship is what got us through it." Tyler added, "BJ and I approached each country with wide eyes and enthusiasm and a huge spirit of adventure. There's so much in this world. We might as well take advantage of as much as we can and give back as much as we can and that's important. That's how it all works."
