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In this image released by CBS, best friends Andrew Lappitt, 22, left, and Dan Honig, 23, are one of the teams competing in the 13th edition of "The Amazing Race," premiering, Sunday, Sept. 28 on CBS.
AP Photo/CBS, Monty Brinton
A look at the 11 teams competing in the 13th season of CBS’ “The Amazing Race.”
Name: Terence Gerchberg Age: 35 Occupations: Running Coach Hometown: New York Name: Sarah Leshner Age: 31 Occupation: Investment Analyst Hometown: New York Relationship: Newly Dating
Name: Marisa Axelrod Age: 22 Occupation: Student Hometown: Spartanburg, S.C. Name: Brooke Jackson Age: 24 Occupation: Graphic Designer Hometown: Columbia, S.C. Relationship: Southern Belles
Name: Andrew Lappitt Age: 22 Occupation: Student Hometown: Tucson, Ariz. Name: Dan Honig Age: 23 Occupation: Hotel Manager Trainee Hometown: Wilmington, Del. Relationship: Fraternity Brothers
Name: Aja Benton Age: 25 Occupation: Aspiring Actress Hometown: Los Angeles Name: Ty White Age: 25 Occupation: Banker Hometown: West Bloomfield, Mich. Relationship: Dating Long Distance
Name: Mark Yturralde Age: 41 Occupation: Comic-Con Treasurer Hometown: San Diego Name: Bill Hahler Age: 42 Occupation: Student Aid Administrator Hometown: San Diego Relationship: Best Friends
Name: Toni Imbimbo Age: 51 Occupation: Accounting Consultant Hometown: Woodside, Calif. Name: Dallas Imbimbo Age: 22 Occupation: Student Hometown: Woodside, Calif. Relationship: Mother and Son
Name: Nick Spangler Age: 22 Occupation: Actor Hometown: New York Name: Starr Spangler Age: 21 Occupation: Former NFL Cheerleader Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas Relationship: Brother and Sister
Name: Anita Jones Age: 63 Occupation: Retired Paralegal Hometown: Eugene, Ore. Name: Arthur Jones Age: 61 Occupation: Playground Maintenance Hometown: Eugene, Ore. Relationship: Married Beekeepers
Name: Kelly Crabb Age: 26 Occupation: Sales Representative Hometown: Houston Name: Christy Cook Age: 26 Occupation: Business Developer Hometown: Austin, Texas Relationship: Divorcees
Name: Ken Greene Age: 51 Occupation: Home Builder and Ex-NFL Player Hometown: Tampa, Fla. Name: Tina Greene Age: 48 Occupation: Executive Search Firm President Hometown: San Diego Relationship: Separated
Name: Anthony Marotta Age: 32 Occupation: Mortgage Broker Hometown: Los Angeles Name: Stephanie Kacandes Age: 32 Occupation: Financial Saleswoman Hometown: Los Angeles Relationship: Dating

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Hourly Update

Tucson man to compete in TV's upcoming 'Amazing Race'

By Derrik J. Lang
The Associated Press
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 08.19.2008
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A 22-year-old student from Tucson will team up with his best friend in the latest version of the popular TV reality show Amazing Race.
Andrew Lappitt and his fraternity brother Dan Honig, 22, a hotel manager trainee, will make up one of the teams in the CBS series, according to wire reports.
The fraternity brothers, ex-NFL player and his estranged wife, a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader and her actor brother, recent divorcees, and a pair of Southern belles are among the 11 two-person teams hurrying for the finish line — and the $1 million grand prize — on the upcoming 13th edition of CBS’ “The Amazing Race.”
“I love the fraternity brothers because they’re so young and such a contrasting team,” host Phil Keoghan recently told The Associated Press. “One takes his time to think things out. The other one loves to rush and go at a million miles an hour. There’s definitely tension between the two of them while they’re making decisions during the race.”
Another team competing is geeky best friends Mark Yturralde, 41, and Bill Hahler, 42. The Comic-Con treasurer and student aid administrator from San Diego have been pals for over 20 years and have auditioned for “The Amazing Race” since the long-running reality series’ third season. The superhero and gaming aficionados said they left their toys at home during the race.
“We’ve got really teeny backpacks,” said Hahler. “They are small. We wanted to make sure that there wasn’t anything to prevent us from putting that pack underneath the seat in front of us when we got on a plane. We didn’t want something to happen where we got delayed because of our luggage. We thought that would help us go faster.”
“We did extensive research on what to wear — what was lightweight and would help us move the fastest,” added Yturralde. “I think it was the longest I ever went without wearing a logo on my T-shirt. If you see me on the street, I’m usually wearing a Superman, Bizarro or Batman T-shirt on a constant basis, but we had to utilize more multi-use clothing for ’The Amazing Race.”’
Married beekeepers Anita, 63, and Arthur Jones, 61, from Eugene, Ore., are the oldest — and perhaps most colorful — team on this season of “The Amazing Race.” Among the self-described hippies’ mottos: “Don’t worry, be hippie” and “The hokey pokey is what it’s all about.” Before the race, the Joneses worked out in hopes of keeping up with the other teams.
“We both tried to do some training, along the lines of going down to our little gym, but that was pretty much it,” said Anita. “We have an emerging farm, so we do a lot of work out there, splitting wood and taking care of the horses. We’re pretty physical, so we thought, ’Hey, we can be in there with everybody else. It’ll be fun.”’
Ken Greene, a former St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Chargers defensive back, now 51, will race with estranged wife Tina.
Starting at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the 13th season of the Emmy-winning reality competition (premiering Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. EDT) will follow the teams as they travel over 30,000 miles in 23 days to countries such as Brazil, Bolivia, Russia, India and Kazakhstan. It’s the first time the series visited the landlocked country lampooned by Sacha Baron Cohen in “Borat.”
“We shot most of that episode in the capital,” said executive producer Bertram van Munster. “People were a little afraid we were going to pull a ’Borat’ on them. I told them we weren’t doing ’Borat,’ but what happened there is very, very funny. It’s not easy to shoot in places like that because they practically have no television industry.”
Van Munster, who is currently scouting locations in Asia for the 14th season, promised the 13th season will include a series of firsts for the reality competition, including a mistake that ultimately prohibited one team from joining their fellow racers at the finish line, as well as a memorable first-ever stop for “The Amazing Race” in Cambodia.
“The teams have no idea how to get from Point A to Point B there,” said van Munster. “They don’t know the language. It’s very difficult to get through this country. They get so stuck, but they find so many fascinating solutions of how to get through everything. One of the things the teams do there is go to a real-life floating village. It’s insane.”
Viewers shouldn’t expect to witness the around-the-world shenanigans in high definition, according to van Munster. While the upcoming Gabon-set season of CBS’ “Survivor” will be broadcast in HD for the first time, “The Amazing Race” co-creator said the network hasn’t decided on a similar stance for the often on-the-bubble show.
“I don’t think it’s a priority,” van Munster said. “We’re just happy to continue making the show as it is.”
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