Don & Mary Jean

Donald "Don" St. Claire and Mary Jean St. Claire are a team of Grandparents on The Amazing Race 6.

The oldest team on their season, they made constant mistakes, which included accidentally taking Adam & Rebecca's car, that kept them in the back of the pack. They were eliminated in 8th place in Germany after getting lost.

Profile

Don & Mary Jean have been married for 20 years and live in Portola Valley, California. Between them they have six children and 16 grandchildren, all from previous marriages. They met almost 27 years ago through mutual friends while they were both married to other people. Donald is a physician, and Mary Jean is an interior designer.

Donald & Mary Jean live for adventure and travel. They have already traveled to six continents and believe that their combined travel experience will make them successful contenders in the Race. They are looking forward to all of the challenges that the Race may bring their way, especially the extreme tasks.

They have been through a lot together, including a near-death experience when their boat of eight people capsized in the South Pacific, throwing Donald onto a coral reef and Mary Jean into the water. The locals later told them that they held a memorial service for them, thinking that there was no way they could survive the treacherous water. The couple survived this horrific experience and emerged with a greater zest for life.

Before being selected for the Race, Mary Jean's most recent accomplishment is losing 23 pounds on Dr. Phil's diet, and Donald's is being an award-winning winemaker.

Although they are the oldest couple on this Race, Donald, 69, and Mary Jean, 65, believe that their life experience and appetite for adventure will be a key asset in winning THE AMAZING RACE.

The Amazing Race 6

Race History

Don & Mary Jean's Race History
Episode	Leg	Destination(s)	Detour Choice (underlined)	Roadblock Performer	Placement	Notes
1	1	United States → Iceland	Ice Climb / Ice Search	No Roadblock	9 of 11
2	2	Iceland → Norway	Endurance / Accuracy	Don	7 of 10	^[1]
3	3	Norway → Sweden	Count It / Build It	Don	8 of 9
4	4	Sweden → Senegal	Stack 'Em Up / Pull 'Em Out	Mary Jean	8 of 8
5	5	Senegal → Germany	Beers / Brats	Mary Jean	8 of 8
				Average	8.00
Legend: The team finished in first place The team finished in last place and was eliminated from the race The team finished in last place in a non-elimination leg The team that won The Amazing Race The team that crossed the Finish Line second The team that crossed the Finish Line third ► The team used the Fast Forward pass > The team used the Yield < Recipient of the Yield
Notes: 1: Don & Mary Jean had arrived in 7th place in Leg 2, but they mistakenly drove the car that belonged to Adam & Rebecca. They left in 8th place at the beginning of Leg 3 after they were issued a 30-minute penalty.

Post-Race

The couple were interviewed for the book "My Ox Is Broken!" but was not included as the conversation recording came out broken.^[1]
- They did admit they got a generous portrayal as their arguments were edited out.

Trivia

Oldest team at an average of 67.5 (tied with Meredith & Gretchen).

External links

Interviews

Harry Smith on The Early Show (12/14/2004): "Old Amazing Racers Chat"
Cynthia Wang at People (12/16/2004): "Don & Mar Jean St. Clair"
Ethan Alter at TV Guide Online (12/20/2004): "TAR's Supercool Seniors"
FansOfRealityTV (12/20/2004): "Our Interview with Don and Mary Jean"
Jane Knoerle at The Almanac (03/02/2005): "An Amazing Race: Portola Valley's Don and Mary Jean St. Claire travel the globe on CBS reality show"
TARflies (04/16/2005): "The Agony of da Bears"