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Amazing Racers return to Yukon to face their undoing – on government’s dime

Last week, two contestants from the second season of The Amazing Race Canada got the chance to do just that during an all-expenses-paid trip courtesy of the Yukon government.
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If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

Last week, two contestants from the second season of The Amazing Race Canada got the chance to do just that during an all-expenses-paid trip courtesy of the Yukon government.

Mother-and-son team Nicole and Cormac Foster’s race to victory was cut short in the Yukon last year, when Nicole ran into trouble on the Biathlon Yukon course.

The pair, originally from Winnipeg, was stuck on the course for four hours after all the other teams had left, while Nicole biked the one-kilometre track 22 times before managing to shoot all five of her targets. Contestants had to bike instead of cross-country ski due to a lack of snow.

“It was really challenging to watch,” said Land Pearson, a Biathlon Yukon coach who prepared the teams for the event.

The Fosters were the fourth team to be eliminated last year. Shortly after the episode aired, Tourism Yukon invited them to come back to the territory during an interview with a Toronto radio station, presumably to boost the Yukon’s profile as a vacation destination.

“We were told that Yukoners believed that we embodied the heart and grit and determination of the Yukon,” Cormac Foster told the News.

That return trip took place last week, from Aug. 22 to Aug. 30, with a price tag of nearly $10,000. The cost was split by Tourism Yukon and the Wilderness Tourism Associaton of Yukon.

The pair visited Kluane National Park, took a glacier tour, and did sightseeing in Whitehorse.

In exchange, they posted photos to Facebook and tweeted about the trip to their combined 2,000 followers.

“I hope we can show people that it’s more than just tundra,” Cormac said.

A Ministry of Tourism and Culture spokesperson said the trip will also be covered by CTV Winnipeg this Friday.

But whether or not the $10,000 promotional tour does much to boost tourism in the territory, it at least allowed Nicole Foster to prove she can hit a target.

Pearson said after some instruction about how to use the rifle’s sights properly, Nicole took out all of her targets in just two rounds. Cormac said he also shot his targets on his second try.

“Out of the race situation, we’re actually pretty good at biathlon,” he said.

Pearson said he thinks Nicole needed to return to the course to understand what went wrong a year ago.

“I think Nicole’s just a very determined person,” he said. “She couldn’t accept defeat.”

Now, thanks to the government’s generosity, she doesn’t have to.

Contact Maura Forrest at

maura.forrest@yukon-news.com