Watching Tuesday’s show with family and friends at Shenanigans in New Glasgow, the crowd erupted into cheers and applause when the Nova Scotia duo crossed the finish line just ahead of competitors Steph Leclair and Kristen McKenzie.
The foot race between the two teams was made even more exciting because MacLaughlin, a New Glasgow native, ran while wearing only one sneaker. She had lost it as they “left in a frenzy” to get ahead of the other team.
The ninth leg of the race across Canada and parts of the world began in Cuba where the last leg ended. MacLaughlin and Blois, of Gore, had finished in first place and therefore departed first, receiving the clue that told them they were travelling to Cape Breton Island.
“We’re going home!” said MacLaughlin with a huge smile.
Going to their home province didn’t benefit them against the other four teams, who hailed from Quebec, Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia, as the two had only visited that area of Nova Scotia a couple of times each. “We had no advantage,” said MacLaughlin after the show.
They flew into Sydney and upon arrival, drove to the Canadian Coast Guard College There, the competing pairs had to direct a small boat to a location where they had to rescue a dummy from the water.
Filmed in May, Blois completed the task and said the water was very cold.
MacLaughlin and Blois drove to the next challenge at the Highland Village Museum in Iona. Once there, teams had the choice of two tasks – learning and performing a highland dance or completing three Highland games events – caber toss, stone throw and the Farmer’s Walk.
Dressed in kilts, this last event proved to be one of the race’s most arduous tasks because they had to carry large logs pieces using chains, with the effort showing on their faces. “It was so heavy. It took everything in me to do it, said MacLaughlin.
Racing to the next challenge, the first two teams to arrive had the option to U-turn competitors, which means those teams are required to go back and complete the task they hadn’t previously selected.
Arriving first, Leclair and McKenzie chose to U-turn father and daughter team Joel Ground and Ashley Callingbull. MacLaughlin and Blois got there next and U-turned Rita and Yvette Yakibonge, a strategic move to eliminate the strong competitors and keep the weaker team of mother and daughter pair Frankie and Amy Glassler in the race.
The next stop in the race was at Fortress Louisbourg where teams dressed as soldiers in period costumes and rolled heavy barrels of gun powder up a hill and then learned how to fire a cannon.
During the task, the pair of exes got into a bit of a squabble as MacLaughlin encouraged Blois to hurry. “Jill – just have fun. Just calm down,” he told her. “Jill gets in race mode and she just turns into this race demon.”
After successfully completing the challenge, MacLaughlin and Blois headed to the finish line with Leclair and McKenzie not far behind. In the rush to reach the end of the leg, MacLaughlin lost her shoe. “Steph and Kristen left the same time as us. To get out of there, we grab what we can and go,” said Blois.
“I grabbed all my things and left it behind,” said MacLaughlin. “It was super stressful… and I ran on a gravel road,” she said.
Reaching the mat first, the Nova Scotia pair were welcomed with a song from the Men of the Deeps. For winning the leg, they won a trip to Mexico City.
“Winning today is huge. I’m so proud to be from this part of Canada,” said MacLaughlin.
They also won another challenge that took place during the leg, which involved driving the shortest distance while competing in Cape Breton. They tied with the Glasslers, who also received a $5,000 prize.
Twin sisters Rita and Yvette Yakibonge arrived last and were eliminated from the race, leaving four teams remaining. The final leg of the race will feature three teams.
