PEOPLE Staff Writer Patrick Gomez was assigned to cover the starting line of the new season of The Amazing Race and documented his experience of attempting to complete the first challenge of the season.
As a big Amazing Race fan, I am most definitely guilty of sitting on my couch watching the show (probably while eating pizza) and thinking, "I could totally do that."
Well, I finally had to put my money where my mouth is.
Last fall, I got the opportunity to be at the starting line for the first leg of the new season of the Emmy-winning CBS reality show.
As someone who has watched The Amazing Race since the very first season in 2001, this was the chance of a lifetime. Not only would I meet the new contestants, but I would also get the opportunity to experience the first challenge of the season.
I was warned I would get a little dirty and wet, but I don't think anything could have mentally prepared me for what I came across when I drove up to the starting line at Castaic Lake in Southern California.
Waiting for me was a mud run complete with a freezing-cold ice bath at the end.
Now, it would've been one thing had I been able to run up on the course with fresh adrenaline pacing through me, but, for better or for worse, I had ample time to imagine the strenuous effort it would take to make it to the course – let alone the chilling impact that water would have at the very end.
Before my fellow journalists – including Big Brother's Jeff Schroeder and Jordan Lloyd – and I got the opportunity to run the course, we had the privilege of watching the new season's contestants – including New Kids on the Block's Jonathan Knight and his boyfriend Harley Rodriguez – go through it first.
Unlike us journalists, the contestants started the race around the bend and came upon the mud run course as a surprise. Watching from the sidelines, I started analyzing the strategies and tactics the contestants were using.
Some pairs got through the course as fast as possible, with the speedier partner waiting for their teammate at the end. Others kept pace with their partner and helped the other along.
While I would be running the course solo, I still weighed the positives and negatives for each strategy.
More difficult to watch and assess were the contestants who seemingly gave up: With a $1 million prize on the line, I couldn't imagine what could make someone stop moving.
I, of course, had different thoughts once it was our turn after the contestants had finished the course and headed off to the airport.
Standing at the starting line, I had one goal: finish the course first.
Having had time to scout the course, I knew jumping as far into the muddy water pits as I could would give me less mud to trudge through.
I got through the first challenge in the lead, but Jeff Schroeder and The Wrap's Mikey Glazer were close behind me.
We remained close through the third obstacle.
Jeff was a beast in challenges during his two seasons on Big Brother – and when he and Jordan competed on The Amazing Race – and I knew it would be a big boost to my ego if I could beat him.
With just one more obstacle to go, I could taste victory … until my foot got caught in the ropes on the second-to-last challenge. Just by losing those few precious moments, I knew I was taking third place at best.
As I ran up to that the final obstacle – the dreaded ice bath – this thought crossed my mind: Is it even worth it to get so cold and wet?
Suddenly I understood how someone could lose the will to finish a challenge. But I told myself, "Just keep moving."
With that, I dove into the icy waters. And let me tell you: It. Was. Cold.
Even though I ultimately ended up taking third place, and even as I made the hour-long drive back to my apartment in Los Angeles covered in mud and shivering from the cold, there is nothing I wouldn't do to run this Race again.
Now, like Jonathan Knight, I just need to convince my boyfriend to apply with me …
The new season of The Amazing Race premieres Feb. 25, at 9:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
As a big Amazing Race fan, I am most definitely guilty of sitting on my couch watching the show (probably while eating pizza) and thinking, "I could totally do that."
Well, I finally had to put my money where my mouth is.
Last fall, I got the opportunity to be at the starting line for the first leg of the new season of the Emmy-winning CBS reality show.
As someone who has watched The Amazing Race since the very first season in 2001, this was the chance of a lifetime. Not only would I meet the new contestants, but I would also get the opportunity to experience the first challenge of the season.
I was warned I would get a little dirty and wet, but I don't think anything could have mentally prepared me for what I came across when I drove up to the starting line at Castaic Lake in Southern California.
Waiting for me was a mud run complete with a freezing-cold ice bath at the end.
Now, it would've been one thing had I been able to run up on the course with fresh adrenaline pacing through me, but, for better or for worse, I had ample time to imagine the strenuous effort it would take to make it to the course – let alone the chilling impact that water would have at the very end.
Before my fellow journalists – including Big Brother's Jeff Schroeder and Jordan Lloyd – and I got the opportunity to run the course, we had the privilege of watching the new season's contestants – including New Kids on the Block's Jonathan Knight and his boyfriend Harley Rodriguez – go through it first.
Unlike us journalists, the contestants started the race around the bend and came upon the mud run course as a surprise. Watching from the sidelines, I started analyzing the strategies and tactics the contestants were using.
Some pairs got through the course as fast as possible, with the speedier partner waiting for their teammate at the end. Others kept pace with their partner and helped the other along.
While I would be running the course solo, I still weighed the positives and negatives for each strategy.
More difficult to watch and assess were the contestants who seemingly gave up: With a $1 million prize on the line, I couldn't imagine what could make someone stop moving.
I, of course, had different thoughts once it was our turn after the contestants had finished the course and headed off to the airport.
Robert Voets / CBS
Robert Voets / CBS
I got through the first challenge in the lead, but Jeff Schroeder and The Wrap's Mikey Glazer were close behind me.
We remained close through the third obstacle.
Robert Voets / CBS
With just one more obstacle to go, I could taste victory … until my foot got caught in the ropes on the second-to-last challenge. Just by losing those few precious moments, I knew I was taking third place at best.
As I ran up to that the final obstacle – the dreaded ice bath – this thought crossed my mind: Is it even worth it to get so cold and wet?
Suddenly I understood how someone could lose the will to finish a challenge. But I told myself, "Just keep moving."
Robert Voets / CBS
An Amazing Race challenge
Robert Voets / CBS
Robert Voets / CBS
The new season of The Amazing Race premieres Feb. 25, at 9:30 p.m. ET on CBS.