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If it's possible to have a defining moment in one's life without being defined by that moment, winning The Amazing Race was it. The 28 days I spent racing around the world with my high school buddy Chris, competing for $1 million against 11 other teams, truly was an experience of a lifetime. My race, The Amazing Race II, arguably was one of the most intense, action packed, adrenaline pumping finishes ever aired on reality television. It was everything you could hope for in a race. When you talk about bottling an emotion, 28 days of fierce competition covering 55,000 miles and five continents, The Amazing Race is the perfect recipe for thrills. It's little wonder the show has gone on to win four Emmys for CBS and is now currently in the midst of its tenth race. My involvement in the race all came about by chance. One hot summer night, I was relaxing on my deck, messing around on my computer when this pop-up appeared on my screen: "Race around the world for a $1 million." At the time, Survivor was the only reality show out there. The notion of traveling around the world using clues to propel your team to the next location while competing against others to win money was mind blowing. The biggest difference between our race and the races now is like comparing the purity of college sports versus the pros. When I raced, no one new what to expect. Everything was fresh and exciting. All we had for reference was Survivor, which was pretty intense and raw. You did it for the thrill of victory. You never knew what you'd get out of the racers or in the case of Survivor, the survivalists. Now, reality "players" are cast more specifically. They're personalities instead of people. For them, it's about money and fame. The "players" know how to get camera time – what to do or what to say. For me, after the first 10 minutes of the first leg I forgot there was a camera crew. There were times when Chris and I were so focused and locked in, that we barely uttered a word for hours.  More than 50,000 miles begins with single footsteps. I had just quit my job in corporate America and my buddy Chris was just finishing up school. We hated what we were doing, so to pass the time until we figured out our lives, we worked as bouncers at local bars in our hometown of Boston. The deadline for audition tapes was in a day and half, so I called up Chris that night, and we had another friend put us on tape. The next morning we sent it off via FedEx and then forgot about it. Earlier that summer, Chris and I received two free tickets to Europe. The plan was to travel for a few months without any direction or plan and then come back to the states ready to make a go at our future. Before our sojourn began, we decided to spend a few days with my parents - already in the Swiss Alps staying with friends. The day before Chris and I were scheduled to disappear off the grid for several months, the phone rang. Normally this wouldn't be a particularly strange event. However, my parents' friends said that the phone hadn't rung since they'd been there going on three weeks. It was Chris' mom. Apparently CBS had been trying to track us down for the past few days and was ready to give up on us. They wanted us in New York City for the next round of interviews. In New York, the producers told us that our interview tape was the worst they'd ever seen, however they loved the way we interacted. I said, "That only comes from knowing someone your entire life as Chris and I had." We underwent several more rounds of interviews until the producers finally selected their 11 teams that would push their bodies and minds to the limits all, with hopes of a million dollars in the near future. As a 24 year-old, only two years removed from the NCAA college soccer sweet 16, I approached The Amazing Race the only way I knew how – as a game. Albeit the most intense game I'd ever been involved in. For Chris and me this was Darwinism at its best. For us, it wasn't about money or celebrity. It was about competition and beating everyone pitted against us. All we knew was the race would start somewhere in Nevada. Beyond that, we had no idea where we'd be going, how long we'd be gone and when we'd be coming back. A week prior to the start of the race, the producers flew the 11 teams out to Vegas in order to go over the rules of the race and make sure we knew everything we needed to know. The one rule however was, no intra-team interaction. They specifically wanted all relationships to develop on camera. It was strange not being able to size up our opponents. I didn't have any anxiety, but like any good athlete, I wanted some form of scouting report on whom I was about to go up against. As Chris and I lay in our beds that week in Vegas, we talked about winning the race. We didn't develop any strategies; we just visualized crossing the finish line first. All I had to go on was my own experiences in terms of how we would fare against the other teams. I'd lived in Brazil, Caribbean and Germany. I looked around whenever all the teams were together and said, "Is there anybody here who's traveled like I have, with as little as I have, by themselves?" Then I looked at Chris who is way smarter than I am, and I just knew – we were going to win. The one strategy Chris and I did develop was forming an alliance with one of the other teams. We targeted Wil and Tara, the eventual second place finishers. We did this because Wil and Tara had extensive knowledge of Asia – the one place I'd never traveled to. Collectively we decided to aid each other's cause until we'd each advance into the final three. It turns out the alliance benefited both teams. The other team in the final three, Blake and Paige, never seemed to pose a threat to Chris and me. From 11 teams down to the final three, Wil and Tara were our greatest competition and eventual arch nemesis.
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