The teams set off from Vancouver – perched at the edge of the Pacific Ocean - and must navigate their way north to the first checkpoint, Tlell on the island of Haida Gwaii.
Despite being super-confident at the start line, best friends since school Tricia and Cathie, struggle to get out of the starting point of Stanley Park, the sacred peninsula where the race kicks off. Due to a deteriorating eye condition, Tricia quickly feels a burden, struggling to read the map and negotiate the busy Vancouver streets.
It’s straight into the deep end for brothers Marc and Michael who barely know one another. They need to find a way of working together because upon hitting Vancouver Island, they realise they have a narrow window of time to get off it again if they are to reach the first checkpoint without being days behind the other teams. They have to do so by navigating a long list of Marc’s anxieties and fears.
When it comes to asking for help, husband and wife, Zainib and Mobeen are chalk and cheese. Bubbly orthopaedic surgeon Mobeen will talk to anyone but psychiatrist Zainib prefers animals to people. Together, they’ll need all the charm they can muster as their decision to ski at the resort of Whistler leaves them stranded in the mountains without any access to public transport heading north whatsoever.
52-year-old Ladi believes he has raised his daughter, and travelling partner, Monique to be a molly-coddled Princess and that the race is a perfect opportunity to educate her about the world at large.
Kevin is also travelling with his daughter and begrudgingly agrees to head to Claudia’s must-see - the pristine Great Bear rainforest. Negotiating the tricky Canadian transport system to get there leads Kevin to make a decision that could impact their race dramatically as well as bring up wounds from the past.
The race is on, and the stakes are higher than ever before as the legacy of the pandemic throws extra challenges at our travelling couples who all want to be first to the finish line and win the £20,000 cash prize. As the series unfolds we will see chance encounters, cultural as well as personal revelations and some of the most awe-inspiring locations on the planet. The thrilling unpredictability of the race is sure to change the teams lives forever.