The Amazing Race 5

The Amazing Race 5 is the fifth season of the American reality competition show The Amazing Race. Hosted by Phil Keoghan, it featured eleven teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, competing in a race around the world to win US$1,000,000. This season visited six continents and twelve countries and traveled over 72,000 miles (116,000 km) during thirteen legs. Starting in Santa Monica, racers traveled through Uruguay, Argentina, Russia, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, the United Arab Emirates, India, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Canada before returning to the United States and finishing in Dallas. New twists introduced in this season included the Yield, where one team could force another team to stop racing for a predetermined amount of time, and a new non-elimination leg penalty where teams that finished last where stripped of all of the money they had accumulated during previous legs and would not receive any money in the subsequent leg. The season premiered on CBS on July 6, 2004, and concluded on September 21, 2004.
Married parents Chip and Kim McAllister were the winners of the season, while dating couple Colin Guinn and Christie Woods finished in second place, and models Brandon Davidson and Nicole O'Brian finished in third place.
After the anemic ratings for The Amazing Race 4, CBS chairman and CEO Les Moonves doubted whether the series would be renewed for another season. After much deliberation, CBS officially ordered a fifth installment of The Amazing Race in September 2003. Some observers cited the series' recent Emmy win as the factor behind its renewal. While CBS flirted with the idea of a fall premiere, it ultimately gave season 5 a summer broadcast to create momentum for The Amazing Race 6 on the fall schedule.
This season introduced two major twists to The Amazing Race: the Yield and the non-elimination penalty. The Yield allowed one team to force another team to stop racing for a predetermined amount of time. The Yield was available on each leg, except the last two, although it was not shown on each episode. The non-elimination penalty required teams finishing last on non-elimination legs to be stripped of any money they had accumulated and, in addition, they received no money at the start of the next leg. This was also the first season to see the number of Fast Forwards reduced; only two were available in the entire season.
Filming for The Amazing Race 5 began on January 30, 2004, and finished on February 27. This season traveled 72,000 miles (116,000 km), which was the show's longest route yet, covering six continents and twelve countries. The teams visited nine countries not previously seen on the show: Uruguay, Argentina, Russia, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, the United Arab Emirates, the Philippines, and Canada.
During pre-production, the producers moved the Dubai leg from the originally planned location of Istanbul, Turkey. Istanbul was eventually visited on The Amazing Race 7. Production also moved the legs in the Philippines from Japan, but Japan was eventually visited on The Amazing Race 9.
The Zorb task in Leg 10 was filmed at a New Zealand farm owned by a friend of host Phil Keoghan. Prior to the season, Keoghan experienced rolling in the Zorb and insisted it be a task on the show.
Marshall & Lance were the first team in Amazing Race history to quit. When they arrived at the Roadblock site in Luxor, Egypt, after all of the other teams had already left, they decided to give up rather than complete the task.
After two seasons that featured twelve teams, the contestant pool this season was reduced to eleven teams. They included a dating widowed couple, female twins, a former Big Brother contestant, and a team member with dwarfism. Alison Irwin of CBS's Big Brother 4 was the first contestant from a previously aired reality show to take part in The Amazing Race.
Following this season, Colin & Christie became engaged on CBS's Early Show.
Charla & Mirna returned to compete in The Amazing Race: All-Stars. Colin & Christie were also invited to participate in The Amazing Race: All-Stars, but had to decline due to Christie's pregnancy. They later competed on The Amazing Race: Reality Showdown in 2019.
Alison Irwin later appeared on Big Brother: All Stars. In 2005, Chip, Kim, Charla, and Mirna all competed on the Bravo reality series Battle of the Network Reality Stars, along with twenty-eight other individuals from various reality series.
The following teams are listed with their placements in each leg. Placements are listed in finishing order.
The Amazing Race 5 received positive reviews. Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune called this season a "breakout success". In 2016, this season was ranked 1st out of the first 27 seasons by the Rob Has a Podcast Amazing Race correspondents. Joe Reid of Decider called it "one of its most exciting and dramatically satisfying seasons to date." Kareem Gantt of Screen Rant called it "an otherwise near-perfect season." In 2021, Jane Andrews of Gossip Cop ranked this season as the show's 2nd best season. In 2022, Jason Shomer of Collider ranked this season among the show's top seven seasons. In 2022, Rhenn Taguiam of Game Rant ranked this season as the tenth-best season. In 2024, Taguiam's ranking was updated with this season becoming the fourth-best season.