Clearview couple joins The Amazing Race
Julia Viola and Olivia Curto are two women who love a challenge. When Season 10 of CTV’s The Amazing Race Canada premieres on July 2 the pair will be among 11 teams taking to the start line in Niagara Falls. Their competition includes former professional basketball players, an ex-NHL player, actors, wrestlers and personal trainers.
Over the course of 10 episodes, the teams will be required to figure out clues, navigate unfamiliar areas, interact with locals, perform physical and mental challenges, and travel by air, boat, car, taxi, and other modes of transportation. Teams are progressively eliminated at the end of most legs for being the last to arrive at designated pit stops.
Season 10 has already been shot, but the winner will not be revealed to the public until the final episode airs in September. Viola and Curto are prohibited from discussing the outcome of the race but Viola describes the experience as very positive.
At the beginning of production they were forced to surrender their cellphones and credit cards, forced to rely only on their wits and finite resources to complete various challenges.
Part of the appeal of participating in The Amazing Race Canada was their love of travel, and the desire to discover more of their own country.
Viola says organizers can throw anything at contestants, and they have to be ready to be tested mentally and physically.
“I’m surprised at how proud I am of us as a team, and individually,” she said. “We never argued and we had great communication. We discovered we are able to flip-flop roles, energy and personalities.”
Curto is good at puzzles, and attention to detail. Viola is described as the more athletic of the pair, and says she is typically very calm, but has a fiercely competitive streak. Neither is a stranger to competition, having completed several sprint and Olympic- distance triathlons. They are entered in the upcoming Ironman Muskoka race, which will include a 1,900-metre swim, a 90-kilometre bike ride and a half marathon. Eventually, she says, they would like to progress to a full ironman race.
Viola and Curto both grew up in the GTA. Following an initial meeting through mutual friends about 15 years ago Curto told a friend, “I’m going to marry that girl!”
It took some time for Viola to get on board with the plan, but fast forward to April 2023, the couple had purchased a home in Clearview and were planning their August wedding.
Viola had been a runner for many years, and Curto was a cyclist who used the sport to spend time with her father. Viola says they are both outdoorsy people, so this area had a lot of appeal.
“We like long roads, easy access to water and nice people who will share the road,” she said.
While living in Toronto, they frequently skied in
Collingwood and swam at Wasaga Beach, so moving here seemed like a natural fit.
They actually applied for a place on The Amazing Race Canada four times before earning a spot.
Curto says, “It was something we could do together and make memories.”
Viola says The Amazing Race proved tougher than they thought it would be.
“The challenges are so random, and you never know what you’re good at until you try,” she said.
Asked if they would do it again, she says “Definitely. 1,000 per cent.”
