Second team to leave the race are Prison Guards Susan Hayre and Sharnjit (Sharn) Gill. They struggled in the first leg of the race and only made it through because Max and Elias struggled even more. The struggling continued as the race headed out of Canada into Chile. The two BC residents got lost in the mural/selfie challenge and despite mistakes by Gino and Jesse, landed on the mat last. Gord and Wayne talked to the two and got their views on the race, family challenges and gnomes.
G & W - We'll start light, okay Sharn, in your bio you said you are afraid of gnomes, what’s up with that?
Sharn (Laugh) - It’s about me growing up in the Philippines and stories being told to me about gnomes and dwarves. And it gave me a drama about gnomes and they do scare me a little bit.
G & W - Even garden gnomes they carry on Amazing Race US?
Sharn - it’s okay, I’m not petrified of them, I can handle but I just prefer not to have them around.
G & W - And you guys didn’t like each other when you first met, is that because you are alpha females and you were staking out your turf?
Sharn - Pretty much. We were looking at each other and thinking “you’re going to work with me, you’re going to work in corrections.” And staking out our turf. We were still training and at the end of the day, one of us might be eliminated during training so looking at each other and staking out the turf.
G & W - So how did you finally warm up to each other?
Susan - We had to get outfitted for our uniforms and the day we were outfitted we were thrown into (something inaudible) and we were both naked and we pretty much had to get along from there.
G & W - Getting naked always bonds people together.
Both - That’s true
G & W - Day at work at the prison, a day on the Amazing Race Canada, which one is more stressful?
Sharn - A day on the Amazing Race. We’re trained for what we do in prison and we can eat. On the Amazing Race Canada, you’re in race mode all the time. There is no clock, there is no food and there is no water and you are in 24 hour 48 hour, however long the leg is, in race mode. Your adrenaline is coming out of your mouth, your nose, your ears. It’s an adrenaline rush like crazy.
G & W - So was that kind of fun or insanely crazy?
Susan - It was so much fun, it was an amazing experience, it was a life changing experience.
G & W - Speaking of life changing, during the art task, Sharn cried when she realized she was doing something she was rarely doing with her daughter.
Sharn - Yes it was me and that was definitely life changing. Being a shift worker, being a mom, trying to juggle work with young kids, it’s really difficult to do things like when you’re daughter is asking you to paint with her, or do arts and crafts with her. That was a moment that will forever change my relationship and taking the time to do the things I want to do with my seven year old.
G & W - Are you doing that now?
Sharn - We’re painting now, there’s a mess all over the place, I can clean it up later but yes.
G & W - How’s she reacting to that?
Sharn - She loves it and then she gets annoyed and says ‘I’m going to my room now, I’ve had enough cuddly time. But she is now teaching me how to do selfies so that’s a good thing. We had trouble because of the selfies.
G & W - What was the reaction when you were going to Chile, leaving the country in the second leg?
Susan - that was excellent. We were surprised to be leaving so soon. And definitely excited because we have never been.
G & W - Do you guys travel together or just hang out at work?
Sharn - We travel together, especially lately because we are trainers. So with our work we got a chance to go to Nova Scotia for two weeks and that was an awesome experience, loved, loved, loved it there. We went to Kingston so it’s been a good travel year for us. Also, travelling across Canada is really a blessing.
G & W - So any of the inmates see the race and comment?
Susan - Our inmates, even if they do make a comment, we’re pretty secure in who we are and our role in the jail that even when they do make comments, we’re really good at brushing it off and laughing about it. And then we move forward. It happens and it’s done. We can laugh at our own selves and move forward.
G & W - Was there any time in the leg when you decided to slow down and give up?
Susan - Sharn and I have a no give up rule. And going into the race, we made sure, what happens, how hard the task is, how bad things are going, we will not give up.
Sharn - We also we preach to our kids to never give up and you’re going to have challenging experiences in life and we’d like to make our kids proud. And going on TV and even taking a time penalty in the mural challenge was not something we could do at that point because it would not be a good example for our kids. We say ‘don’t give up’ and then we give up on this giant challenge, that’s just not who we are.
G & W - We'll start light, okay Sharn, in your bio you said you are afraid of gnomes, what’s up with that?
Sharn (Laugh) - It’s about me growing up in the Philippines and stories being told to me about gnomes and dwarves. And it gave me a drama about gnomes and they do scare me a little bit.
G & W - Even garden gnomes they carry on Amazing Race US?
Sharn - it’s okay, I’m not petrified of them, I can handle but I just prefer not to have them around.
G & W - And you guys didn’t like each other when you first met, is that because you are alpha females and you were staking out your turf?
Sharn - Pretty much. We were looking at each other and thinking “you’re going to work with me, you’re going to work in corrections.” And staking out our turf. We were still training and at the end of the day, one of us might be eliminated during training so looking at each other and staking out the turf.
G & W - So how did you finally warm up to each other?
Susan - We had to get outfitted for our uniforms and the day we were outfitted we were thrown into (something inaudible) and we were both naked and we pretty much had to get along from there.
G & W - Getting naked always bonds people together.
Both - That’s true
G & W - Day at work at the prison, a day on the Amazing Race Canada, which one is more stressful?
Sharn - A day on the Amazing Race. We’re trained for what we do in prison and we can eat. On the Amazing Race Canada, you’re in race mode all the time. There is no clock, there is no food and there is no water and you are in 24 hour 48 hour, however long the leg is, in race mode. Your adrenaline is coming out of your mouth, your nose, your ears. It’s an adrenaline rush like crazy.
G & W - So was that kind of fun or insanely crazy?
Susan - It was so much fun, it was an amazing experience, it was a life changing experience.
G & W - Speaking of life changing, during the art task, Sharn cried when she realized she was doing something she was rarely doing with her daughter.
Sharn - Yes it was me and that was definitely life changing. Being a shift worker, being a mom, trying to juggle work with young kids, it’s really difficult to do things like when you’re daughter is asking you to paint with her, or do arts and crafts with her. That was a moment that will forever change my relationship and taking the time to do the things I want to do with my seven year old.
G & W - Are you doing that now?
Sharn - We’re painting now, there’s a mess all over the place, I can clean it up later but yes.
G & W - How’s she reacting to that?
Sharn - She loves it and then she gets annoyed and says ‘I’m going to my room now, I’ve had enough cuddly time. But she is now teaching me how to do selfies so that’s a good thing. We had trouble because of the selfies.
G & W - What was the reaction when you were going to Chile, leaving the country in the second leg?
Susan - that was excellent. We were surprised to be leaving so soon. And definitely excited because we have never been.
G & W - Do you guys travel together or just hang out at work?
Sharn - We travel together, especially lately because we are trainers. So with our work we got a chance to go to Nova Scotia for two weeks and that was an awesome experience, loved, loved, loved it there. We went to Kingston so it’s been a good travel year for us. Also, travelling across Canada is really a blessing.
G & W - So any of the inmates see the race and comment?
Susan - Our inmates, even if they do make a comment, we’re pretty secure in who we are and our role in the jail that even when they do make comments, we’re really good at brushing it off and laughing about it. And then we move forward. It happens and it’s done. We can laugh at our own selves and move forward.
G & W - Was there any time in the leg when you decided to slow down and give up?
Susan - Sharn and I have a no give up rule. And going into the race, we made sure, what happens, how hard the task is, how bad things are going, we will not give up.
Sharn - We also we preach to our kids to never give up and you’re going to have challenging experiences in life and we’d like to make our kids proud. And going on TV and even taking a time penalty in the mural challenge was not something we could do at that point because it would not be a good example for our kids. We say ‘don’t give up’ and then we give up on this giant challenge, that’s just not who we are.
G & W - How big was that neighbourhood and how hard was it to find the right murals?
Sharn - the neighbourhood was about 10 blocks but every wall in that neighbourhood had a mural. It’s was like going through a maze and everything starts to look the same. And everything in that neighbourhood, all the streets, all the little parks, they looked identical. It was harder than it looked.
G & W - Was there any thought of working with other teams on the task?
Sharn - You know what, we helped each other a bit. Some of the teams had found other murals that we hadn’t found so teams were looking for different things. We all kind of helped each other, “oh it’s that way’ or “go left’. Everybody was helping each other however at the end of the day it was a race, everyone was going their own way to finish the challenge.
G & W - How long were you at the dance
Susan - It felt like 20 minutes. We did four attempts. We weren’t there long, maybe 20 minutes and we were gone.
G & W - And then you arrive on the mat in the dark and Jon says you’re eliminated, how does that feel when that happens?
Susan - It was not something that we were looking for. As a team we had so much more to give much more that we wanted to do but at the end of the day when Jon did say that to us, we took it hard for a minute and then we walked away.
Sharn - We kind of had an inkling that we were probably last but hey we were blessed enough to make it to Chile so it’s good.
G & W - What did you bring back from participating in the race?
Susan - The short time we were on the race, definitely coming home and spending more time with our families. And also experiencing and racing around Canada. We have such beautiful country in our back yard and to be able to go and visit it. We’ve set up a vacation to see Canada this summer and tour around.
Sharn - the neighbourhood was about 10 blocks but every wall in that neighbourhood had a mural. It’s was like going through a maze and everything starts to look the same. And everything in that neighbourhood, all the streets, all the little parks, they looked identical. It was harder than it looked.
G & W - Was there any thought of working with other teams on the task?
Sharn - You know what, we helped each other a bit. Some of the teams had found other murals that we hadn’t found so teams were looking for different things. We all kind of helped each other, “oh it’s that way’ or “go left’. Everybody was helping each other however at the end of the day it was a race, everyone was going their own way to finish the challenge.
G & W - How long were you at the dance
Susan - It felt like 20 minutes. We did four attempts. We weren’t there long, maybe 20 minutes and we were gone.
G & W - And then you arrive on the mat in the dark and Jon says you’re eliminated, how does that feel when that happens?
Susan - It was not something that we were looking for. As a team we had so much more to give much more that we wanted to do but at the end of the day when Jon did say that to us, we took it hard for a minute and then we walked away.
Sharn - We kind of had an inkling that we were probably last but hey we were blessed enough to make it to Chile so it’s good.
G & W - What did you bring back from participating in the race?
Susan - The short time we were on the race, definitely coming home and spending more time with our families. And also experiencing and racing around Canada. We have such beautiful country in our back yard and to be able to go and visit it. We’ve set up a vacation to see Canada this summer and tour around.