The Amazing Race Racers Brandon Squyres and Adam Switzer finished the first half of a super-leg in first place during Sunday night's fourth broadcast of the CBS reality competition's 23rd season.

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The "Childhood Friends and Beard Lovers" team arrived at the Viking Longhouse in Svolvaer, Norway before any of the other teams and learned they must continue racing the rest of the leg with no rest period in between. 

"We were so excited when [host Phil Keoghan] told us to keep racing. That's what we want! We want to just keep racing. It's been a long day!" Brandon said before his team headed off to their next destination.

The fourth episode of The Amazing Race's 23rd edition began with the Race's eight remaining teams starting off the leg at Castelo Dos Mouros, a ninth century castle, in Lisbon, Portugal.

The first team to leave the third Pit Stop was "Married ER Doctors" Nicole Jasper and Travis Jasper at 11:08PM. "Dating Couple" Jason Case and Amy Diaz followed closely behind them at 11:14PM. The rest of the teams' departure times were not shown.

The teams' first clue instructed them to travel more than 2,000 miles by plane and ferry to Svolvaer, Norway and the Arctic Circle and then find their next clue at the ferry terminal.

The earliest flight out of Lisbon was at 8:55AM the next morning, which put all the teams on a level playing field. All the teams therefore flew to Bodo, Norway together and then had to get on a three-hour ferry that would arrive in Svolvaer at 11:05PM.

"Exes" Timothy Sweeney and Marie "Reebs" Mazzocchi admitted they were going to hold onto their extra Express Pass as long as they could until the fifth leg. They knew, however, that "Cousins" Leo Temory and Jamal Zadran and "LA Kings Ice Crew Girls" Allison "Ally" Mello and Ashley Covert were out of the running to receive the advantage.

Timothy and Marie were considering doing "the nice thing" by giving it to Nicole and Travis, who had previously finished the first leg in first place but had to wait out a time penalty that ultimately robbed them of officially checking-in in first place and receiving two Express Passes. But Timothy and Marie were aware Nicole and Travis were a strong team and may present them with a big challenge down the road if they were to remain in the Race.

Jason and Amy were the first team to arrive at the ferry terminal's clue, and they were soon followed by Brandon and Adam, Nicole and Travis, Timothy and Marie, Ally and Ashley, Leo and Jamal, "Baseball Wives" Nicole "Nicky" Getz and Kim DeJesus, and "Best Friends" Tim Wiyninger and Daniel "Danny" Merkey.

The teams then had to select one of two possible Detour tasks: "Hang your Heads" or "Hammer of the Cods."

"Hang your Heads" required the teams to string together six bundles comprised of 10 fish heads each and then transport them to enormous drying racks, where they would lay the fish out in the Arctic sun. When they've been properly hung out to dry, the teams would receive their next clue.

"Hammer of the Cods" required the teams to collect 15 pairs of cod from 30-foot high drying racks and then pound them with a giant hammer to make one kilogram of fish jerky without the bones. Once they weighed-in with the correct amount of fish, the teams would receive their next clue.

Because it was so late at night, few cabs were available to get them to the location of the Detour tasks so most of the teams had to run on-foot. The teams who got lucky and took cabs were Nicole and Travis, Jason and Amy, and Timothy and Marie.

Tim and Danny as well as Nicky and Kim decided to try the "Hammer of the Cods" task. All the other teams opted to participate in the "Hang your Heads" task. 

Leo and Jamal had a flat wheelbarrow while they were transporting their fish bundles, so their faulty equipment made it very difficult for them to push the fish uphill. The hammering tasks, however, proved to be more physically demanding.

Timothy and Marie were the first team to finish the Detour task, but they laid their fish to dry on a pole that wasn't marked with The Amazing Race flag colors. Jason and Amy noticed the flagged poles from the get-go, so they passed Timothy and Marie in the Race without disclosing the couple's error.

Timothy and Marie had no idea what they were doing wrong. Once Brandon and Adam finished the same task, Timothy and Marie asked for their help during which Marie kept throwing out the idea they had an Express Pass to hand out. But Brandon and Adam couldn't have cared less, as they called her "manipulative" and mocked her as they walked away without lending a hand.

Brandon and Adam said Timothy and Marie had been trying to get help from a lot of teams by holding the Express Pass above their heads, so they weren't convinced the couple would actually give it to them in exchange for help.

Jason and Amy chose to help their alliance members Nicole and Travis with the task, however. On their way out, the couple told Nicole and Travis to look for the marked poles. Marie eventually figured out her mistake by watching the progress of Nicole and Travis before them.

Jason and Amy were the first team to complete the Detour task. They were then followed by Brandon and Adam, Nicole and Travis, Timothy and Marie, Ally and Ashley, Leo and Jamal, Tim and Danny, Nicky and Kim.

The teams' next set of clues instructed them to take a high-speed boat ride to the fishing village of Henningsvaer, Norway and find their next clue.

Brandon and Adam arrived at the clue in first place, and they were soon followed by Jason and Amy, Timothy and Marie, Nicole and Travis, Ally and Ashley, Leo and Jamal, Tim and Danny, and finally Nicky and Kim.

For the Roadblock, one member of each team had to take a leap off the Henningsvaer bridge and swing on the end of an 80-foot cable until they could find the courage to unclip themselves and splash into the frigid Arctic Ocean, where they could swim to their next clue.

Jason, Brandon, Timothy, Nicole, Ashley, Jamal, Tim, and Kim all took on the Roadblock task for their teams.

Brandon and Adam, still in the lead, finished the Roadblock task before any of the other teams. They were then followed by Jason and Amy, Tim and Marie, Nicole and Travis, Ally and Ashley, Leo and Jamal, Tim and Danny, and Nicky and Kim.

The teams then learned they must head back to shore, choose a vehicle, hook the vehicle up to a sled loaded with a giant granite boulder, and then pull it far enough to reveal their next clue and a satchel of Viking coins they'd need later in the Race.

Timothy and Marie seemed to take the coins but leave behind the actual piece of paper which had their clue written on it on the ground. Tim and Danny later helped Ally and Ashley out in the challenge, because the girls were confused about what to do.

Brandon and Adam moved the boulder and grabbed their next clue first. They were soon followed by Jason and Amy, Timothy and Marie, Nicole and Travis, Leo and Jamal, Tim and Danny, Ally and Ashley, and Nicky and Kim.

The next set of clues required the teams to head to the Viking Longhouse, which would serve as the Race's fourth Pit Stop.

Brandon and Adam met Phil on the Pit Stop mat in first place. They each won $5,000 as a reward, and then Phil handed the guys their next clue and told them to continue racing.

"To me, the $5,000 is going to let me finish the house I've been working on for the last year," Brandon said.

"And for me, $5,000, I could live off that for a year out where I live," Adam added.

Timothy and Marie got lost on their way to the Pit Stop and ran into Nicole and Travis, who knew where they were going. Nicole said they'd help the team as long as they promised to hand over an Express Pass. Timothy and Marie didn't seem to agree to the terms, and therefore Nicole and Travis took off.

Next week's The Amazing Race episode will begin right where last night's broadcast left off.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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