As the oldest team on this season of “The Amazing Race,” Bill Alden, 63, and his wife Cathi, 62, knew their age could make things more challenging so they decided not to waste any time arguing --  unlike many of their younger counterparts.

“We have a very mature relationship, we’ve been married for 41 years and so we didn’t spend any energy at all in terms of not getting along or trying to outdo the other person,” Cathi tells CTV.ca over the phone.

“I think that the way (the other couples) Cindy and Ernie and Sandy and Jeremy act is really appropriate for where they are in their lives but it can be exhausting and it can be a real stressor.”

Cathi adds that Jeremy and Sandy, who have been dating for less than one year, even came to her for advice.

“They not only talked about it on camera, they talked about it to us and we reminded Sandy of her parents, which was really cute.”

Bill and Cathi, a retired couple from Albany, Ore., were eliminated in Belgium during the tenth leg of the “Race” after getting “imprecise” directions to their next challenge and not driving fast enough.

“I can probably take some credit and it had to do with our ages, in that we grew up in an era where you really did follow directions, so I was very hesitant to speed, even on the Autobahn and that cost us time,” says Bill.

After host Phil Keoghan confirmed they had been eliminated, Bill remarked he was surprised they came as far as they had.  

“We were twice the age of all the other teams almost and . . . we didn’t know how we would fare with our stamina,” says Bill.

But the couple, who own a farm and do regular triathlons, did manage to keep up to the other teams up until that point.

“As it turned out it required a lot of brains and that helped us so if you were in taxis or driving, (stamina) didn’t weigh out too much,” says Bill.

“When we did have time for rest we really tried to maximize that because we weren’t sure how easily we were going to snap back day after day,” adds Cathi.

Some of their fondest memories from the “Race” include experiencing the sights and sounds of Malawi and the “wonderful” people they met in every country.

But the one moment they definitely would like to forget is a bodybuilding “posedown” competition in Brussels where Bill was forced to wear a Speedo and Cathi a skimpy bikini.

“That was just the worst,” says Cathi. “We never, ever imagined that would be part of it and in fact I said to Bill the only thing I don’t want to do is show my midriff. Well, there was so much more than midriff showing. I died.”

“And I’m really a little self-conscious and private,” adds Bill, “and we got out there the first time and they booed at us and that pretty much did me in. But we practiced real hard and got it on the second try.”

It was just another bonding experience for the couple, who say they did learn something new about their partner on the “Race,” despite having been together so long.

“We’re a couple forever but it showed some support and depth and supporting each other that was over the top that was really cool,” says Bill.

“When you’re typically in (normal) life, you’re not in crisis every day for 30 days and that’s really what we were (on the ‘Race’) and so it was nice to know that at every moment we had each other to rely on and we did,” adds Cathi.

About Sheri Block

Sheri Block has been covering entertainment for CTV.ca since 2008. In addition to covering Will and Kate’s Royal Wedding in London, Sheri’s highlights have included going on tour with “Canadian Idol,” being a stand-in on “Canada’s Next Top Model” and meeting Colin Farrell at the Toronto International Film Festival.Follow her on Twitter!