They might not have won “The Amazing Race” but runner-ups Brook Roberts and Claire Champlin still feel like they are part of history.

The home shopping hosts wanted so badly to become the first all-female team to ever win in 17 seasons, but had to settle for second place after doctors Nat Strand and Kat Chang pulled ahead in a nail-biting finish.

Claire says it’s ok though, as she and Brook made a pact with the doctors from the beginning that they were always going to help each other out to make sure an all-girl team won.

“When they took the podium we just felt so accomplished (and like) we reached our goals for having either been them or us up there so we felt like we were a big part of history,” Claire tells CTV.ca over the phone.

Brook and Claire were very close behind the doctors though – closer than Brook even thought.

“I actually found out that it was 9 minutes and 13 seconds,” says Claire.

“No!!! I thought it was 15 (minutes)! Who told you that?” shrieks Brook. “That hurts even more. That’s the worst news I’ve ever got!”

Much like Nat and Kat, Brook and Claire didn’t make any mistakes on the final leg in Los Angeles but say they got delayed during the bungee jumping challenge at Port of Long Beach.

Brook says there was a safety check on the harness she was wearing and it took the technician 20 minutes to get it off.

“A lot about ‘The Amazing Race’ is a lot of things aren’t in your hands, like the taxi cab drivers for instance and of course your security and safety issues and those are the things that were completely out of our hands,” says Claire.

“If it were up to Brook and I, of course we’d be losing sleep if it was actually our fault for the time deficiency but it wasn’t so I think it lets Brook and I rest a little bit easier at night.”

Another thing that was completely out of their control – and almost caused them to be eliminated in the very first leg – was when Claire got hit in the face with a watermelon after a giant slingshot she was using for a challenge backfired.

“I thought the producers were going to come in and stop us and maybe like give me a brain scan or take me to the hospital or something but after the medical team came in and checked me, they vanished and the camera crews came in,” says Claire.

“I thought, ‘Well my face hurts like the dickens but my legs still work so let’s do this.’ I didn’t want to get out on the first leg, we were not that girls’ team for sure so we went and we ran and we made it all the way to the end.”

And in style, no less. 

“Claire and I would watch the show and we’re like why doesn’t anyone dress up or have fun?” says Brook.

So the two decided to bring some “Brook and Claire flair” as they affectionately called it, wearing brightly coloured clothes, socks and headbands throughout the “Race.”

“’Amazing Race’ is survival of the fittest and I know you can’t go wrong with pink and cheetah print,” says Claire with a laugh.

But despite appearing in the trailer for Season 18, titled “The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business,”  the pair is tight-lipped about whether they, and their flair, will be running again.

“Well….you’ll have to wait and see,” says Brook with a laugh. “Unfortunately we can’t (confirm or deny).”