Winnipeg couple takes motto to heart for reality-TV series

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This article was published 09/07/2015 (4120 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The motto they adopted for their run on The Amazing Race Canada is in keeping with their shared military background:

“Adapt and overcome… failure is not an option!”

And according to Brian and Cynthia Boyd, the married pair of Winnipeg Police Service officers who will carry the hopes of this province’s Amazing Race fans during the Canadian series’ third season, it was the perfect attitude to drive their quest for ARC’s million-dollar prize haul.

“We stand by it,” Brian, 47, said during a recent telephone interview. “The race is designed in a way that you have to adapt and overcome; you have to face every challenge and overcome it in order to move on in the game. Failure can’t be an option; if you fail, you go home.”

The Amazing Race Canada, which had its third-season première on July 8 and airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on CTV, has been a TV-watching staple in the Boyd household since its debut in 2013. As a longtime fans of the U.S. version of the show, the Boyds knew it was only a matter of time before they became contestants on the show.

“It’s probably me more so than Brian — I’m a huge fan of The Amazing Race and Survivor — but over the years, he has really gotten into Amazing Race, too,” said Cynthia. “We both really love it.”

Added Brian: “When they said Canada was going to get an Amazing Race, that’s when we started getting our ducks in a row, trying to figure out how to do a video that would get their attention.”

Clearly, the effort succeeded, and the Boyds are part of ARC’s extremely diverse Season 3 cast, which also includes a professional UFC fighter and his relatively new girlfriend; a transgender man and his lifelong best friend and now fiancée; a former CFL star and his daughter; a pro-wrestling tag team; a father-daughter team of Nigerian immigrants; and two other pairs that work in branches of law enforcement.

In the season opener (spoiler alert: episode details to follow), the teams began their mad scramble in Quebec City, racing by bicycle, ferry and automobile before boarding (in order of airport arrival) a series of flights to Toronto for the main part of the Race’s first leg.

Both mental and physical abilities were tested — first, the teams travelled to TSN’s headquarters, where one member was required to partner with sportscaster James Duthie to deliver a special Race edition of SportsCentre, following camera cues, keeping proper time and avoiding mispronunciation of pro-jock names such as “Solomon Elimimian” before being handed the next clue; later, they travelled to Ontario Place’s Atlantis attraction where the other team member had to complete a harrowing watery challenge involving cargo nets, a plunge into the icy lake and a difficult traverse across a rolling-log bridge.

The last part proved to be painfully difficult for Cynthia, who took several spectacular tumbles that seemed almost as hard for the husband to watch as they were for the wife to experience.

“It was very painful for me to watch Cynthia hurting,” Brian recalled. “I was about a millisecond from jumping in there, because when she looked up at me from in the water, I know that look: ‘I’m hurt.’ And as a husband, you just want to get in there and help her because it just isn’t nice watching the one you love in pain.”

In the end, it was the strength of their long personal and professional partnership — the couple met more than 20 years ago while they were both serving in the Canadian Armed Forces; they’ve been married 16 years and are both currently on active duty with the Winnipeg Police Service — that helped them overcome the cold-water challenge and survive ARC’s first leg.

Of course, the Boyds are prevented, by confidentiality agreements, from discussing the outcome of their Amazing Race adventure, but they were quick to describe it as a very challenging and deeply rewarding experience.

“It isn’t the hardest thing we’ve done, but it came close,” said Cynthia. “We were a bit surprised by what everyone got put through: sometimes we would travel for hours on end, with long layovers, and you’d get off the plane and keep going for another 12, 20, 24 hours.

“We’re kind of used to that because of our jobs and working shifts and so on, but many of the teams were civilians. It definitely challenged all the aspects of your skills.”

And while there was nothing in The Amazing Race that left either of the Boyds surprised about the other, facing the show’s challenges together definitely reinforced their belief in the things that brought them together in the first place.

“Cynthia and I have known each other for 20 years; we’re husband and wife, and we’re best friends,” said Brian. “Going through the Race reaffirmed what we already knew about one another — in my case, that Cynthia is a strong, empowered woman who can do anything she puts her mind to. I’ve known that for the past 20 years, and The Amazing Race just confirmed it. She’s the whole deal.”

brad.oswald@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @BradOswald