Amazing Race's Margie and Luke: We Almost Took a Penalty

Even though the needle-in-a-haystack tea-identifying Roadblock on The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business brought him to tears and took him four hours to complete, Luke Adams says it was not as hard as the final memory task in the Season 14 finale. "The surfboards were much harder," he tells TVGuide.com. "It was just much harder because [my mom Margie and I] were so close to winning!" This time around, he was thisclose to throwing in the towel.

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How did you decide that Luke would do the Roadblock?
Luke: Mom wasn't feeling well on the morning of the tea challenge so we thought it would be better if I did it. I'm glad I did it. I wouldn't want to make her sicker!Margie: I was recovering from a case of food poisoning and there was no way I was eating or drinking anything until I felt better. Luke volunteered to do it because he knew I was not feeling well.Did you get sick from drinking so much tea?
Luke: I just felt more bloated. It wasn't easy drinking tea for four hours.What were your tactics for finding the right cup? Did you smell any of the teas?
Luke: There's no skill involved. ... I had actually tried smelling and I couldn't tell any difference. There were so many smells in the room, so it made it much harder. ... [Mallory] actually said smelling [worked], but it didn't help.Did you ever consider taking a penalty when you were the last one left?
Luke: Yeah, I was ready to give up. I couldn't take drinking tea anymore, but at same time I really wanted to find the tea and hope that we could catch up with other teams and beat one of them to the mat.

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Margie, what was going through your mind when he was struggling so much?
Margie: It was so painful to watch. He is always so concerned that he is letting me or the deaf community down, but that couldn't be further from the truth. He was drinking tea for four hours and I am sure he felt like quitting, but he wouldn't because he didn't want to let me down.
How much encouragement did the attendants at the task give you?
Luke: That was so nice of them! It meant so much especially after we finished last. It was really nice to have their encouragement and we knew that we had to keep going.
Margie: The little "tea men" were so sweet and encouraging. They clapped and cheered for Luke and Flight Time and when Luke finally got the tea and was given the clue. They were so happy for him they tried to lift him on their shoulders.
Why did you decide to do the art Detour? How long did that take?
Luke: The task clues were vague so we weren't sure which one would be faster, but the Ganesha task was much closer so we went for it.
Margie: Our cab driver told us that the trolly stop was closer than the book depot and Luke was not feeling well, so we chose the challenge where he would have to walk the least. It is hard to tell how much time goes by when you are doing a challenge, but we got to the challenge a little before Flight Time and Big Easy were finishing up.
What did Flight Time say to you when he hugged you guys?
Luke: He said good job and he didn't think he would have hung in there as long as I did. That was really nice of him!
Margie: I think Flight Time and Big Easy are the only other people on this earth that understand what Luke went through because Flight Time experienced it too. He hugged me and said he was very proud of Luke and he was surprised by his strength and he really admired him. That was one of the best moments of the Race for me. He is such a great guy.
How far behind the Globetrotters at the Pit Stop were you?
Margie: I think about 30 minutes.

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You seemed certain that you were last the way you walked to the Pit Stop. Did you have any hope at all of being safe?
Margie: We figured we were last. They had already had two [super-legs], so Luke and I figured that there would not be another one so soon.
How does this Race experience compare to your first one?
Luke: Much harder! It was just physically exhausting.
Margie: Both were amazing, but in Season 14, we were fortunate enough to race the entire Race and that is just the best. Sitting at elimination station while your friends are still racing is not so fun.
What are you up to now?
Luke: I'm doing a bit of traveling, so I'm really excited about it. I'm thinking about going to grad school this fall. I actually dropped out of grad school two years ago to do The Amazing Race.
Margie: Back to normal life, but I have a new man in my life — well, not a new man. He's someone I knew growing up [and he] found me on Facebook last year. And the only reason I was on Facebook was because Luke said I had to have a page for my "fans." Well, the fans were few and far between, but I did reconnect with my new guy, so thank you, Luke.