Interview ‘The Amazing Race Canada’ finalist contestants Grace Dove of team Grace & Joe

Grace Dove (From team Grace & Joe)  one of the four finalist teams from “The Amazing Race Canada,” shared her reflection on her journey during an interview with “The Extra Mile”

TEM (The Extra Mile): How does it feel to, you know, make it this far in the competition?

Grace: Yeah, I feel really proud of us and honestly relieved because we had such high hopes going into it as every team does. And we almost got eliminated in the first leg. So being able to really make up for that feels, yeah, reassuring. 

TEM: So whose idea was it to go on Amazing Race Canada? Was it yours, Joe’s? And how did that kind of come about? 

Grace:  Yeah, it was my idea. I’m extremely competitive, as everyone who knows me says. And so the idea of being able to go and compete in all these challenges, I love watching the show. I’ve watched many seasons of it. And so then I approached my brother and he was on board right away, which was exciting.

TEM:  So you didn’t have to do much convincing? 

Grace:  No, surprisingly not.  I mean, I knew my brother would be down for an adventure. But, you know, the fact of being on TV, I wasn’t sure that he’d be so keen. But he jumped on board right away, which was fun. 

TEM: Growing up together, do you feel like you’ve learned, you know, anything different or something in particular that you learned from one another, being in like a high stake competition like this? 

Grace: Yeah, spending this quality time with my brother. You know, it’s the first time since we were kids that we’ve spent this kind of time together. And so kind of relearning who each other is as adults and what we’ve been through over the last decade or so. But what really surprised me about my brother was his personality really started to shine on camera. And he really stepped up when it came to bringing the energy and the jokes. And, you know, there were so many moments where I was genuinely just beat, like exhausted. And we’d get to interviews and I’d have so little to give. And he would notice that. So he would give more. So he I feel like he really stepped up. And some days I felt like he had way more of a personality and more to offer than I did.  Yeah, no, he was definitely like his energy was always up there. And I’m like, you know, he definitely kept me going.

TEM: This  far in the competition, Would you say it’s more like a strategy or survival at this point in the competition or a bit of both? 

Grace: The second half of the race for us, it felt a lot more, I don’t know, kind of calm in a weird way.  I think because we started out at the bottom, we were under so much stress all the time. Every minute, every challenge, we were so scared to go home. And you can see now right towards the second half, now that some of the winning teams like Jesse and Jonathon and EB and Blake, when they’re in the back end, you can see their demeanor changes. You can see how that pressure affects the teams. So the fact that we now are hitting podiums and we’re starting to really catch our stride, I think we just relaxed and we eased into it in a weird way.

TEM: What would you say was your favorite challenge and your least favorite? 

Grace:  I really enjoyed some of the sillier ones. I loved jousting and I loved being on the scooters and kind of doing all of these challenges that brought out the innocence and I guess the youthfulness in us.  Because, I don’t know, that’s my favorite part of growing up, right? It was always gym class and it was always doing these fun challenges. And then I’d say the hardest one was definitely traversing across the two buildings in Ontario.  That was physically extremely challenging. I mean, we were climbing, we were going up from one building to the other. So it was not just going straight across or walking straight across, it was pulling ourselves up, which was very physical.  

TEM: So, what would winning the Amazing Race Canada mean to you? 

Grace:  Yeah, for us, going into this, everyone wants to win.  To win that kind of money, to win these prizes, it would be life-changing for us. I mean, it would bring our family a lot closer.  We’re hoping to go on a family trip and be able to really kind of give back to those that have supported us. But as the race has continued, I mean, my brother says it all the time. He feels like we’ve already won. He’s so grateful and he’s so positive about it, right? Every time we finish a leg, he’s so, I don’t know, reassuring and happy about it. And then, of course, winning two legs. It’s hard to complain. 

TEM:  So we’re all about going the extra mile. So what does the extra mile mean to you? Or how do you go the extra mile? 

Grace:  I think, especially in the Amazing Race Canada, going that extra mile was pushing when I was starting to doubt myself, you know, with the challenge of the buildings. And, you know, with some of the more physical challenges, climbing our way from the bottom. It was not giving up and also not letting the pressure, I guess, hurt my serenity and hurt, you know, the way that we interact with the world. And I think that’s something that Joe and I talked a lot about throughout the race was no matter what happens, no matter, you know, what is happening in the race, we will continue to, you know, play with honour.  To be aware of our surroundings and really respect the other teams and respect the people around us and try to, you know, remember that it is just a race. And so just to continue on like in a good way with a good mindset. 

The final episode of THE AMAZING RACE CANADA airs at a new time next week!! Find out who the winner is on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app, and streams next day on Crave