Jessica Hoel and John Erck are a Dating team on The Amazing Race 22 and an Engaged team on The Amazing Race: All-Stars.
In The Amazing Race 22, Jessica & John quickly emerged as contenders after strong performances in the first three legs, including winning the first leg and the Express Pass. However, they also alienated their competitors with their transparently cutthroat gameplay to the point that any team allied with them was targeted as well. They suffered a spectacular collapse in the fourth leg when they, already towards the back of the pack, struggled with the Detour before eventually switching tasks. This left them last to arrive at the Roadblock, which John then struggled with. They still could have guaranteed their survival by using the Express Pass as Chuck & Wynona were also struggling at the Roadblock, but John's overconfidence and insistence on saving the Express Pass for later resulted in them coming in last and being shockingly eliminated in 9th place.
In All-Stars, Jessica & John once again worked with old allies Joey & Meghan while attempting to run a more quiet Race to avoid being targeted. They led early on in the seventh leg, only to stumble when trying to decipher a cryptic clue when their cab driver took them to the wrong place, dropping them to the back of the pack. In the subsequent Roadblock, they agreed to share the answer with Flight Time & Big Easy and Leo & Jamal in the mistaken belief that another team was still behind them. While Jessica proved to be a match to the Globetrotters in the ensuing three-team footrace to the Pit Stop, John, still under the belief that they were not in last place, decided to take it easy. Upon checking in, they were shocked to learn that they were in fact in last and eliminated in 7th place.
Profile[]
Jessica[]
Age: 26
Current Residence: Huntington Beach, CA
Connection to your teammate: Dating
Current occupation: Account Manager
Describe what you do: I am an account manager for Cargills health and nutrition business. I represent a variety of specialty sweeteners and functional ingredients.
Three words to describe you: Smart, silly and practical.
Favorite hobbies: Running, surfing and traveling.
What is the accomplishment you are most proud of? Finishing the Boston Marathon twice!
What famous person reminds you of yourself? Jessica Biel. She's super athletic, but seems girly and sweet.
What famous person reminds you of your teammate? Macklemore.
What scares you most about traveling? Not much. I love it! Maybe missing a flight, but I usually get lucky.
What excites you most about traveling? I absolutely love to travel! I lived in Mexico and Spain to really learn and understand other cultures. I love trying new food, seeing new sights and meeting different people and learning new languages.
Biggest challenge you and your teammate will face on The Race together: John tells a lot of stories (multiple times) and speaks very slowly. I sometimes just talk over him or make him get to the point!
Pet peeve about your teammate: He's always hungry! He will eat all of the oatmeal in one sitting, so I have to hide it. If he's hungry, it's not good!
What country and place would you most like to visit and why? Thailand, because of the people! It's called the land of smiles. Also, the local food, the beaches! I've heard too many great things!
What do you hope to accomplish by running The Race (other than winning one million bucks)? I can't wait to see the world with my best friend!
John[]
Age: 27
Current Residence: Huntington Beach, CA
Connection to your teammate: Dating
Current occupation: Entrepreneur/Computer programmer
Describe what you do: I run a web development and design company called Above Market. We code what our clients want.
Three words to describe you: Coffee, code and surf.
Favorite hobbies: Coding (PHP and Objective-C), drinking coffee and surfing 12th Street or the pier in Huntington Beach.
What is the accomplishment you are most proud of? Having the guts to quit my well-paid corporate IT job to pursue a life of hacking and entrepreneurship.
What famous person reminds you of yourself? Macklemore.
What famous person reminds you of your teammate? Angelina Jolie.
What scares you most about traveling? Getting locked up abroad.
What excites you most about traveling? Seeing new things.
Biggest challenge you and your teammate will face on The Race together: Jessica's mumbling and me not being able to understand what she's saying!
Pet peeve about your teammate: Sometimes Jess tunes me out when I'm telling an awesome story.
What country and place would you most like to visit and why? Australia, to go surfing, feed white sharks and scuba dive the great barrier reef.
Jessica[]
Name: Jessica Hoel
Age: 27
Hometown: Eden Prairie, Minn.
Previous Seasons: Season 22
Current occupation: Sales
Biggest mistake you made in your previous season: Obviously our Express Pass fail! Oy Vey!
Most memorable moment from your first Race: I loved every part of Bora Bora! My favorite memory was paddling to Phil after FINALLY finding our clue in the sand castles. It was such a rush knowing that we were in first place! I couldn't believe it!
Favorite place you visited on your first season: Definitely Bora Bora!
Why do you want to run the Race again? Well, we still have an Express Pass to use... Kidding! There is nothing that even comes close to The Amazing Race. No matter what place you finish in, you have the opportunity to be a part of something so incredible. We went to amazing countries, met new people and had the chance to compete together for $1 million! It really was priceless.
How have you changed since the last time you competed? We are older, hopefully wiser and we are engaged!
What are you passionate about? Running, travel, adventure!
People would be surprised to learn: We are engaged. We are planning our wedding in October and could really use that million!
Biggest challenge you and your teammate will face on The Race together: Language barriers, taxi drivers, me getting tunnel vision and dancing/singing challenges.
Pet peeve about your teammate: He talks to me in computer code language.
What country and place would you most like to visit and why? Anywhere in Africa. We didn't get a chance to go last season and it looked incredible.
What do you hope to accomplish by running The Race (other than winning one million bucks)? We want to see as many countries as possible. We were eliminated fairly early last time and we missed out on some cool places. Other than that, we just want to enjoy the adventure together and know that we did our best no matter what place we finish in.
Any strategic changes you will make heading into this Race: We plan to be more cautious and less competitive. That may sound like a weird plan for a race, but I felt like last time we were always thinking ahead and strategizing for the next challenge. We don't care about getting first on any leg except for the last!
John[]
Name: John Erck
Age: 28
Hometown: Mora, Minn.
Previous Seasons: Season 22
Current occupation: iOS Developer (iPhone and iPad apps)
Describe what you do: I use a software application called Xcode and a language called Objective-C to write iPhone and iPad apps.
Biggest mistake you made in your previous season: Failed to use our Express Pass.
Most memorable moment from your first Race: Racing across crazy, cool-colored water in Bora Bora on a jet ski with Jess on the back, in pursuit of a million dollars. Like, literally looking over and thinking "If we can pass those guys over there, we'll be in first place towards a million dollars!" I figure when James Bond is racing across the ocean, at any moment they might yell, "Cut!" but with the Race, it's for real!
Favorite place you visited on your first season: Bora Bora
Why do you want to run the Race again? There's nothing else like it. Even if you could afford to travel the world and had the time to do it you couldn't really replicate the experience. It's traveling and competing and stepping into the unknown and meeting lots of cool new people along the way and racing for a million dollars with your best friend.
How have you changed since the last time you competed? I'd say probably the main difference is the length of my hair. No, but seriously, I think the main difference is that we know what an Express Pass is.
What are you passionate about? I like to write code, surf, drink coffee and hang out with friends and family.
People would be surprised to learn: That Phil really likes my hair this season.
Biggest challenge you and your teammate will face on The Race together: Locals
Pet peeve about your teammate: She still leaves a trail of bobby pins wherever she goes.
What country and place would you most like to visit and why? Western Australia, South Africa or Chile. Waves and wildlife.
What do you hope to accomplish by running The Race (other than winning one million bucks)? For me, it's more about an adventure with Jess than anything else. The filming of the show, the traveling, etc. is a lot of fun and we want to be a part of that again.
The Amazing Race 22[]
Race History[]
| Jessica & John's Race History | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episode | Leg | Destination(s) | Detour Choice (underlined) |
Roadblock Performer |
Placement | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | United States → French Polynesia | No Detour | John | 1 of 11 | [1] |
| Jessica | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | French Polynesia | Pick a Pearl / Take a Trunk | Jessica | 3 of 10 | |
| 3 | 3 | French Polynesia → New Zealand | Rev It Up / Reel It In | John | 2 of 9 | |
| 4 | 4 | New Zealand → Indonesia | Sandy Bottom / Fruity Top | John | 9 of 9 | |
| Average | 3.75 | |||||
Legend:
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Notes:
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The Amazing Race: All-Stars[]
Race History[]
| Jessica & John's Race History | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episode | Leg | Destination(s) | Detour Choice (underlined) |
Roadblock Performer |
Placement | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | United States → China | No Detour | John | 8 of 11 | |
| 2 | 2 | China | Featherball / China Cup | John | 8 of 10 | |
| 3 | 3 | China → Malaysia | River Delivery / Run Through the Jungle | Jessica | 7 of 9 | |
| 4 | 4 | Malaysia | Mix Master / Master Mix | Jessica | 5 of 8 | |
| 5 | 5 | Malaysia → Sri Lanka | Fishing Pole / Spin Control | Jessica | 5 of 8 | |
| 6 | 6 | Sri Lanka | Trunk / Sheets | John | 3 of 7 | |
| 7 | 7 | Sri Lanka → Italy | Gladiator / Charioteer | John | 7 of 7 | |
| Average | 6.14 | |||||
Legend:
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Post Race[]
- Jessica & John got married on October 18, 2014.[3]
- They have since had three daughters: Mia, Ella, and Lili.[4]
Trivia[]
- Jessica & John have the highest average placement of any 9th place team, at 3.75 (in their original season).
- Jessica & John are the first team to be eliminated with an Express Pass in their possession.
- Lowest finish for a team in their first season to come back for a returnee season, 9th place (tied with Zev & Justin and Richie & Mimi).
External links[]
Interviews[]
Season 22[]
- Joyce Eng at TV Guide (03/11/2013): "Amazing Race's Jessica and John: We Didn't Over-Think Using the Express Pass"
- Kimberly Nordyke at Hollywood Reporter (03/11/2013): "'Amazing Race': Latest Eliminated Team on Making Show History and a Big Wrong Turn"
- Elizabeth Kwiatkowski at Reality TV World (03/2013): "Exclusive: Jessica Hoel and John Erck talk 'The Amazing Race' (Part 1)" (Parts 1 & 2)
- Reg Seeton at The Deadbolt (03/13/2013): "The Amazing Race: Express "Passed" with John and Jessica"
All-Stars[]
- Patty Dexter at swnewsmedia (02/13/2014): "EP native on 'The Amazing Race' a 2nd time"
- Joyce Eng at TV Guide (04/14/2014): "Amazing Race's John and Jessica: We Should Not Have Asked for the Answer"
- Rob Cesternino at RHAW (04/14/2014): "Amazing Race 2014: Interview with the Latest Team Eliminated"
- Elizabeth Kwiatkowski at Reality TV World (04/2014): "Exclusive: John Erck and Jessica Hoel talk 'The Amazing Race: All-Stars" (Parts 1 and 2)
- Ruth Myles at Calagry Herald (04/16/2014): "Step by step, John and Jessica walk us through their elimination from The Amazing Race All-Stars"
- Daniel Fienberg at Uproxx (04/20/2014): "Interview: John & Jessica talk 'Amazing Race: All-Stars'"
Social Media[]
Jessica's Facebook: /jhoel
- Jessica's X profile (formerly Twitter): @jessicahoel
- John's X profile (formerly Twitter): @johnerck
- Jessica's Instagram: /jessicaerck
- John's Instagram: /john_erck
References[]
| The Amazing Race 22 Teams | ||||||||||||
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| The Amazing Race: All-Stars (2014) Teams | ||||||||||||
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