‘The Amazing Race’: Marcus Says It Wasn’t ‘a Surprise’ to See Claire and Derek Helping Another Team
The Amazing Race fans expected to see certain teams at the end. Marcus and Michael Craig were on that list for season 34. Showbiz Cheat Sheet talked to Marcus on Nov. 28 over Zoom about being targeted by other teams and more.
[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers from The Amazing Race 34 Episode 10, “Don’t Look Down.”]
Q: You had a great streak in the race. Was there any point where you thought we could win this? The whole thing?
Marcus: Such a difficult–of course I don’t mean to take up the time like pondering, right? But we had that thought a couple of times. Right?
So the first time was where we’re in like the production meetings at the very beginning, right when the cast is meeting each other. Like when I sized up all the teams, and we’re like, we’re going to beat that team. We’re going to beat that team. That team looks pretty strong. That team’s strong. But they’re not stronger than us [laughs].
Getting to even in, I think Michael pointed out, maybe we had a conversation. We were in France, and we said I said, even if we didn’t win every leg, we’re like, you know, up until now, we were at first place In Every leg at some point in time, even if we didn’t finish there. So all we have to do is once we get there, we just have to find a way to stay there. And so I’m like, damn we were actually the first place. So every leg except for in Spain.
And so we thought we were going to win. Like we should win. We will win. We have to win.
Marcus would’ve been sad if he eliminated Emily and Molly in a foot race
Q: Michael did mention on the mega leg that if it came down to a foot race between you and the twins, you’d win. Are you happy or sad that it didn’t come down to that?
Marcus: I guess for–If we were that close to the twins and it came down to that and we passed them and to eliminate them, that probably would have made me sad. Because, like, I think with the whole cast, I think a lot of us are friends, but we’re competitors, and we respect the competition.
But I think we’re closer to the twins than all the other teams. So I would have felt bad if that’s how they would have been eliminated, because Michael and I are racing up on foot. I would’ve been glad to stay in. But I would’ve felt bad about that.
Marcus still feels some guilt for losing ‘The Amazing Race’
Q: You said at the end you took $500,000 from your brother. Has any of that guilt gone away since filming?
Marcus: Maybe some of it. Not…not a lot of it. It. This is going to sound really bad, right? Like I expected us to win it. It was a lot of what was going on with the competition. Teams, a couple of teams are still in the race, right? Couple of teams like I thought would be there.
There’s a team that that’s there that I didn’t think was as strong as the rest of the teams. Might not show in the edit, but I think there is a team that’s there that’s just luckier than [other] teams. And sometimes you have to make your own luck, and I understand that. But and some of their luck was waiting on Marcus and Michael to make a mistake.
And so so I say all that to say I can’t get that part of it out of my mind. And if I look at it like that, I’m like damn, Mike. We lost and we weren’t supposed to lose. And we lost because of me. And now we don’t get this prize. I still feel sad. I still feel some of it.
Marcus says other teams worked together to target them
Q: Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Claire and Derek had a strategy this time around to help Aubrey and David because they wanted to compete against them at the end. What do you think of that strategy?
Marcus: I mean, it wasn’t a surprise to me to see that. And I guess if I was in Derek’s shoes. See, you’re asking me this question. I have to answer it. So, yeah. Just knowing, like I’m not biased. I just watch the show.
If I had to race against David and Aubrey, or I’m about to race against Marcus or Michael, I’m going to choose David and Aubrey as well. So that and that type of cooperation didn’t just start there. A lot of teams were having those conversations. I think way back in, like Italy. ‘We got to work together. Find out what the brothers’ weaknesses are so they can get out of here.’
Q: Well, you kind of had that same setup with the T-Rex team, and then they got eliminated. Did you ever replace them? Were the twins like that? Or it’s just you guys were at the head, so–?
Marcus: No, no. We didn’t replace them because I thought I think Michael thought the same thing, too. I thought the twins were a strong team in their own right. But you’re not going to be able to carry–I don’t want to call them weak teams.
But you’re not going to be able to eliminate all the strong teams. Strong teams are going to make it through. They’re going to find a way to be successful. And so we thought from the beginning, everybody’s going to underestimate them, and they’re probably going to be one of the stronger teams. That’s how I thought from the very beginning.
And so that turned into maybe like a loose alliance, like I think all of us are friends. I think Michael and I are closer with Emily and Molly than maybe other other other teammates. And so that was just like, hey, let’s help each other when we can. But, but yes, T-Rex. We definitely wanted to bring them with us as far as possible [laughs]. We definitely wanted to.
Q: What was that closeness with Emily and Molly like? Because I don’t think we’ve ever actually seen you navigate together. That wasn’t a thing. But just like hanging out on the sidelines. Did it ever go beyond that when you’re waiting at a roadblock?
Marcus: No, it was actually that I mean, there was a small thing right at the time. Emily was single. At the time, Mike was single. Michael is now like dating somebody, seriously. But starting off, I was like, ‘Hey, Michael, you need to go knock on the door, and talk to Emily.’ But aside from that, we actually did navigate together. It started off in Petra.
Marcus reveals his plans for his prizes
Q: Have you enjoyed any of your prizes yet? You won $7,500 each, and then I forgot what your other prizes were.
Marcus: A trip to Lima, Peru. And so I don’t think I had it, but we don’t get the prizes, I don’t think, until sometime after the finale airs.
So after that, then obviously there’s, you know, the cash prize. I think we have to pay taxes on the trip. So we’ll get the cash. We’ll find out when, like, our schedules are free, so we can take the trip. And I’ll use that cash to pay the taxes for the trip. And if there’s any leftover, then I’ll probably take my wife out to a nice dinner or something.
This interview has been condensed for this article.
Other Exit Interviews:
‘The Amazing Race’: Quinton and Mattie Reveal They Were Pulled Over, Rules in the Race, and More
‘The Amazing Race’: Glenda and Lumumba on Their Car Crash and Strengthening Their Marriage
‘The Amazing Race’: Abby and Will Dream for Round Two After Shocking Ending to Their Race
‘The Amazing Race 34’: Sharik Addresses Sabotage Accusations, ‘I Was Dying, so I Needed to Finish’
‘The Amazing Race 34’: Rich and Dom React to Sharik Almost Quitting and Their Own Stress
‘The Amazing Race 34’: Rex and Tim Reveal Their Routine to Drop 50 Pounds
‘The Amazing Race 34’: Aastha and Nina on Their Slow Start and Double Dates With Claire and Derek
