After starting the leg in Tanzania almost two hours after all the other teams, Jamie and Nary knew staying in “The Amazing Race” would be an uphill battle.

But the federal agents from Los Angeles, Calif., who were saved from elimination on the previous leg, say they never even considered giving up despite all odds being stacked against them.

“Jamie and I never, ever were the type to give up. Just how long we were at the tent challenge (on the previous leg) alone tells you. We knew every team was gone and we were there two hours after they all left until we completed that thing,” says Nary.

The team got a small glimmer of hope during the current leg as well, after catching up to competitors Vanessa and Ralph, who had to perform the U-turn and encountered bad luck with a cab.

But because Jamie and Nary had to complete a Speed Bump challenge (a task only they had to do because they were saved from non-elimination on the previous leg) it put them behind another 20 minutes. When they finally got to the Pit Stop host Phil Keoghan confirmed they were the last team to arrive and this time had been eliminated.

“I think it was bittersweet because we were really pleased with how we played the game,” says Jamie. “We’d been asked before, what would you do differently? And I don’t think we’d really change anything. I was happy with how we played, how we represented ourselves. We didn’t put on a show for TV, that’s exactly how we are with each other.”  

They weren’t completely honest with the other teams, however, at least when it came to their careers.  The federal agents thought they might be seen as more of a threat if they revealed what they really did for a living so passed themselves off as teachers instead.

“The whole point of us lying about our professions was the whole U-turn thing. People might have perceived us in different ways (as) a strong team or (maybe they) just don’t like law enforcement, so they might choose to U-turn us . . . but the point where the U-turn came into play it didn’t really matter,” says Nary.

But border patrol agents Art and JJ almost blew their cover in a previous leg when the guys said they suspected the girls also worked in law enforcement.

Jamie and Nary didn’t flinch and stuck to their story.

“I don’t think we really cared,” says Jamie. “It didn’t really matter at that point . . . they thought they kind of got us, like, ‘Oh we’re stirring the pot,’ but they kind of approached us in a foul manner, after all the commotion, everybody’s fighting and we were pretty embarrassed . . . had they approached us as friends, like, ‘Maybe we know a lot of the same people, we’re interested,’ then we probably would’ve told them but that didn’t happen so we told them to suck rocks basically.”

Nary says they did end up telling JJ after the whole “Race” was over what their real professions were.

So were there any hard feelings between the two teams?

“We don’t really care for them. How about that?” says Nary with a laugh. “We’re not friends with them. We don’t really care to speak to them.”

Nary and Jamie say their skills as federal agents did come in handy on the “Race” in terms of being able to focus on the task at hand. 

“I think what you see is, probably a lot in part why we’re federal agents is because we are the way we are, the A-type personality, you give us a mission and we’ll die trying to get it done,” says Jamie.

“Sometimes when we do search warrants or enforcement ops, we’re hungry, we’re tired, we’re out on the street for several days at a time so we’re used to operating under sleep deprivation and what not and it’s hard for a viewer to determine that because you just see people bickering.”

Even so, being on the “Race” has been an incredible experience for both Jamie and Nary, who say it only strengthened their already close friendship.

“Running a race around the world just brings you so much closer and being able to say you experienced that with (such a good friend) is just an amazing feeling,” says Nary. 

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!