This piece is part of our RALtoday Q+A series. Do you know someone we should interview? Nominate them here.
Two of our very own Raleighites are representing the City of Oaks on the latest season of the CBS reality show “The Amazing Race.” We’re cheering on internet personalities Kim + Penn Holderness as they travel around the world to destinations including England, Scotland, Switzerland, France, and Greece + compete in challenges for a chance to win $1 million.
Season 33 began filming in February 2020, but paused for a year and a half due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After nearly two years of anticipation, the Holdernesses starring season premiered in January — and as of Wednesday night, they’re still in the running.
We asked Kim and Penn eight questions about life in Raleigh + their time on “The Amazing Race.”
Briefly describe your perfect day in Raleigh.
Kim: My favorite thing about the city of Raleigh is the greenway trails. My perfect day would be a really long run (or walk, who am I kidding) throughout the greenway that ended up somewhere downtown for a boozy brunch in which I had to Uber home from. Whiskey Kitchen has a fun outdoor vibe + Rosewater Kitchen & Bar at North Hills has a really fun brunch menu.
Penn: I wake up and drive to A Place at the Table and get a sausage biscuit. It just puts me in a good mood because you know that you’re helping their cause and the people are incredibly inspiring. Then I’m probably going to play tennis or pickleball for four hours at North Hills Park. Then, lunch at Neuse River Brewing.
Are there any locations in town you used to train before the show?
Kim: Yes. We would run with our packs around Shelley Lake and do the hills around there and then go through Umstead State Park. We felt like we needed to find as many hills as possible; I feel like “The Amazing Race” is just a lot of climbing up things.
Penn: We also trained at Chain Effect — we couldn’t tell our trainers we were going on “The Amazing Race,” just that we were going on a travel show. They tailored our workouts to really weird stuff, like running up stairs with kettlebells and pushing sleds.
“Souvlaki” – Teams travel to Halkidiki, Greece where they are tested on their spelling and memory skills, on the CBS Original series THE AMAZING RACE, Wednesday, Feb. 16 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*. Phil Keoghan is the host. Pictured: Kim Holderness and Penn Holderness. Photo: Courtesy of CBS Entertainment/CBS ©2022 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Courtesy of CBS Entertainment/CBS
Kim + Penn in Greece | Photo provided by CBS Entertainment
What’s something you discovered on “The Amazing Race” that you wish you could bring back to Raleigh?
Penn: I really wish they made pork souvlakis like they do in Greece.
Kim: When we’re watching the episodes with the kids, we try to order food from the country or something we experienced there. We tried to order souvlaki and I was struggling to find it.
What’s something that you learned about each other during “The Amazing Race” that you didn’t know before?
Kim: I learned that my ADHD husband can have incredible attention to detail.
Penn: I learned that my wife’s anxiety — which she has lived with her entire life and was very much put to the test during this race — is trumped only by her total unwillingness to lose ever, at anything, or to quit or to be defeated.
Kim: I think he learned how competitive I was.
If you were coming up with “Amazing Race” challenges in Raleigh, what would they be?
Both: We did a mini “Amazing Race” with our kids. The kids played the role of Phil and we had to challenge each other.
Kim: There would be some sort of swimming through Jordan Lake. You would have to climb up the stairs of the highest tower in Raleigh carrying a tray of drinks to deliver them to the top floor. And then you’d have to repel down the side of the building.
Penn: I was gonna say you just have to go find somebody’s tombstone in a cemetery because there’s like eight million cemeteries on the side of the road around here.
Raleigh is better than ___ place you visited and worse than ___ place you visited.
Penn: I like Raleigh more than most places. But there weren’t a lot of bad places.
Both: Raleigh was a better time for us than Thessaloniki, Greece. Bonifacio in Corsica is dreamy. It’s stunning.
What country or city reminded you the most of Raleigh?
Kim: Switzerland — it was really green and pretty but also the people were so lovely. I think the people of Raleigh are so kind and wonderful and they reminded me of them.
Penn: The water is way better there, though. Sorry, Raleigh.
When you got home from filming, where did you celebrate your time on “The Amazing Race”?
Kim: When we got home, our kids wanted takeout from Cowfish with Oreo milkshakes.
Penn: And we got right back to work.
