Maria and Tiffany continue to get nowhere, until Tiffany, who's gotten a warm-up jacket from somewhere, says, "I think I'm done." Maria says she wouldn't have gotten this far without her, which is selling herself short. I mean, could Tiffany have made pho so quickly? Eaten two wasabi bombs instead of one? Destroyed their car so effortlessly? I don't think so. Maria says, "I'm not going to tell you what to do." They hug, and are still standing there like that when Phil comes walking across the grass to them. Back off, Phil, they're having a moment. He says, "Maria and Tiffany, I understand that you want to give up on the race?" Tiffany says rather formally, without letting go of Maria, "We do not want to give up on the race, but we do not foresee that we'll be able to finish this challenge with this weather. We are quitting the race, and as a result we understand that we'll be eliminated." Well, at least that saves Phil from having to do anything but nod. Maria says they know they've given their all, and she interviews that Tiffany has been her hero throughout the race, seeing her as invincible. "But I have to remember that at the end of the day, we can only do so much." And that would not appear to include either of these two Detour options, like, at all. I have to give them credit for persistence, though; it's not like they gave up easily. They walk off into the sunset, arm in arm, in their cold, wet underwear. Are they still going to have to swim and bike to wherever they have to spend the night tonight?

M. Giant is a Minneapolis-based writer with a wife, a son, and a number of cats that seems to have settled at around two. Learn waaaay too much about him at Velcrometer, follow him on Twitter, or just e-mail him at M.Giant[at]gmail.com.