Another all-star race is on

MANILA, Philippines - As early as last year, when The Amazing Race 23 ended, participants for the all-stars edition or The Amazing Race 24 were already being named in various sites.  Unlike previous seasons where participants were kept tightly under wraps, The Amazing Race 24 easily gave out names of the pairs who are returning for the second or third time to win the much-coveted $1M prize.

This is the third race that features an all-star cast. The Amazing Race 24 was filmed from Nov. 16 to Dec. 6, 2013, covering nine countries. A new twist this season is that one of the 11 teams was not allowed to join a day before the race started.

From Season 23, there are cousins Leo Temory and Jamal Zadran, popularly known as the “Afghanimals” from Southern California. Then, there are four pairs from Season 22 — engaged couple Jessica Hoel and John Erck from California (Huntington Beach); best friends Joey Graceffa and Meghan Camarena from California (Los Angeles); father and son Dave and Connor O’Leary from Utah (Salt Lake City); friends and country singers Caroline Cutbirth and Jennifer Wayne from Tennessee (Nashville).

Couple Jessica and John was the first team to be eliminated with an Express Pass on their hands. In the first leg of the new season, they finished eighth. “I’m glad we don’t have an Express Pass this time,” Jessica said at the end of the first leg. “I don’t have to worry about using it.”

From Season 21, there are twins Natalie and Nadiya Anderson, who were born in New York but grew up in Sri Lanka, while from Season 20, there are newlyweds Brendon Villegas and Rachel Reilly from California (Los Angeles).

Also from Season 20, best friends William “Bopper” Minton and Mark Jackson from Kentucky were originally listed as participants this season. However, on the night before the race started, Bopper was declared “not healthy enough to race around the world” because of an inflamed pancreas. So his last-minute replacement was Mallory Ervin from Season 17, also from Kentucky.

For brothers and rodeo cowboys Jet and Cord McCoy from Oklahoma, this is their third time to join the race. The first time was in Season 16, where they placed second and next was in Season 18, where they ended up in sixth place.

Harlem Globetrotters Flight Time (Herbert Lang) and Big Easy (Nathaniel Lofton) are also three-time The Amazing Race participants. They were previously in Season 15 (where they ended up in fourth place) and Season 18 (where they finished second).

The mother-and-son tandem of Margie O’Donnell and Luke Adams from Colorado was in Season 18 (where they ended up in eighth place) and Season 14 (where they finished in third place).

The race kicked off in Santa Clarita, California, with the UCLA Bruin Marching Band playing. Teams had to look for the correct Chinese symbols in the hats of band members for the teams’ first destination, Guangzhou, China.

Once in Guangzhou, teams had to look for clues in a wedding boutique, the Canton Tower (where they had to ride the Ferris Wheel on top) and Haixinsha Stadium (where one member was required to do five aerial somersaults), which hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 Asian Games.

Brothers Jet and Cord were the first to arrive at the Pit Stop and they won two express passes, one for them and the other to be given to a team of their choice before the end of the fifth leg. First to be eliminated were twin sisters Natalie and Nadiya.

The Amazing Race 24 is hosted by Phil Keoghan and airs Monday nights on AXN.