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Hot Pursuit (also known as Pack Race, Steeple Chase, The Evil Circle, Snake In the Grass, and Catch Your Tail) is a recurring physical challenge in Survivor.

Rules[]

While harnessed together, the two competing tribes will circle around an oval course (either in shallow water or on land) while carrying a twenty-pound backpack each (or similar heavy load). Players can drop out of the challenge at will, but they must give their weight to a tribemate before unclipping themselves from the rope. The first tribe to catch the opponent and touch one of their members wins.

History[]

United States[]

The challenge was first used in Palau. Janu Tornell and Jenn Lyon sat out of the challenge for KororJeff Wilson quickly opted out of the challenge because of an ankle injury he sustained the night before. Caryn Groedel was unable to keep it and gave her weight to Tom Westman. Willard Smith quickly followed. Then Kim Mullen and Angie Jakusz opted out of the challenge. Katie Gallagher left the game. Exhausted, Coby Archa opted out. James Miller was the last person to opt out the challenge. Eventually, Koror managed to catch the exhausted Ulong tribe to win immunity.

The challenge reappeared again in Cook Islands. In this version, the tribe that tackles the opposing tribes last member wins. Both tribes started equally. Eventually the Aitutaki tribe had all their women aside from Jessica Smith drop out at once, strategically handing each of their bags to a man. In spite of this, the physically stronger men of Raro was able to exhaust the men of Aitu. Rebecca opted out when the Aitu tribe was weakened. Yul Kwon tried to defend the tribe, but J.P. Calderon grabbed and pushed down Cao Boi Bui, giving victory to the new Rarotonga tribe.

In Gabon, the challenge was adapted to be played on land. The course comprised of a dirt track, and instead of 20-pound sandbags assigned to each player, the tribe was required to carry a single, heavy snake. Corinne Kaplan sat out for the Kota tribe. The Fang tribe struggled, as most of its members dropped out, leaving Matty Whitmore and Ace Gordon to pick up the weight. Kota was much stronger, and Susie Smith's choice to drop out only made them faster. Kota won easily and got coffee, tea, and pastries as a reward.

The challenge moved back to its original design in Caramoan. Brenda Lowe sat out for Gota, acting as a cheerleader. Gota won the Reward Challenge, as Bikal's strategy of walking for most of the challenge in an attempt to tire out the other tribe failed miserably, especially since Phillip Sheppard stayed in the challenge the whole time despite being exhausted quickly, costing them valuable time. Gota got to go on a trip to a Survivor-themed coffee shop.

Australia[]

New Zealand[]

Quebec[]

South Africa[]

In Panama, the challenge was used for reward. The tribes would race around an obstacle course and attempt to catch each other. They were each given one time-out, which they could use to pause the challenge by hitting a gong. Despite holding the early lead, Rana found themselves gassing out by having to drag along Zayn Nabbi. This allowed Aguila to tag Rana and continue their streak of Reward Challenge victories, winning lentils, coffee, salt and pepper.

In Maldives, the two tribes competed on both water and land, with each person carrying 10% of their body weight. The land leg of the course also included a series of obstacles which the tribes had to cross. Tribe members were only permitted to drop out at either of two designated pit stops. In the end, Goma caught Raituhn and won their second Immunity Challenge in a row.

In Island of Secrets, the challenge appeared as the first Immunity Challenge after the second tribe switch. Laetitia Le Roux was the only person to drop out of the challenge. Ta'alo stopping to change over opened the window for Danté De Villiers to tag them, allowing the new Sa'ula tribe to win immunity.

Sweden[]

United Kingdom[]

The challenge appeared as the third Immunity Challenge of Survivor U.K. (2023). While La Nena's strategy of hastily jettisoning members allowed them to make early strides, fatigue quickly set in as their numbers dwindled, allowing Caletón's more conservative strategy to prevail as La Nena lost their second straight Immunity Challenge.

Winners[]

Episode Challenge Type Winners
Palau
"Dangerous Creatures and Horrible Setbacks"
Tribal Immunity S10 caryn tS10 coby tS10 gregg t
S10 ian tS10 janu tS10 jenn t
S10 katie tS10 tom tS10 willard t
Koror
Cook Islands
"Flirting and Frustration"
Tribal Immunity S13 adam tS13 brad tS13 cristina t
S13 jenny tS13 jp tS13 nate t
S13 parvati tS13 rebecca tS13 stephannie t
Rarotonga
Gabon
"He's a Snake, but He's My Snake"
Tribal Reward S17 bob tS17 charlie tS17 corinne t
S17 dan tS17 marcus tS17 randy tS17 susie t
Kota
Caramoan
"Tubby Lunchbox"
Tribal Reward S26 andrea tS26 brenda tS26 eddie t
S26 erik tS26 malcolm tS26 reynold tS26 sherri t
Gota

Episode Challenge Type Winners
Caramoan
Episode 1
Tribal Immunity FRS8 bertrand tFRS8 carole tFRS8 christelle tFRS8 christophe t
FRS8 christopher tFRS8 frederic tFRS8 morgane tFRS8 nathalie t
Tayak
Le Retour des Héros
Episode 2
Tribal Immunity FRS9 catherine tFRS9 filomene tFRS9 jade t
FRS9 jeanbernard tFRS9 romuald tFRS9 tony t
Tupan
Palau
Episode 3
Tribal Reward FRS10 alexandre tFRS10 christina tFRS10 freddy t
FRS10 isabelle tFRS10 marine tFRS10 patrick tFRS10 raphaele t
Koror (Koh-Lanta)
Le Choc des Héros
Episode 2
Tribal Reward FRS11 djamel tFRS11 frank tFRS11 frederique t
FRS11 gwendal tFRS11 myriam tFRS11 taig t
Malabou
Viêtnam
Episode 8
Tribal Reward FRS12 abdellah tFRS12 boris tFRS12 claude t
FRS12 laurence tFRS12 marine tFRS12 valentin tFRS12 wafa t
Do
La Revanche des Héros
Episode 3
Tribal Immunity FRS14 claude tFRS14 coumba t
FRS14 guenaelle tFRS14 patrick tFRS14 teheiura t
Nekmao
Thaïlande
Episode 1
Tribal Reward FRS18 amir tFRS18 carine tFRS18 carole t
FRS18 cecilia tFRS18 gabriel tFRS18 karima t
FRS18 marius tFRS18 nicolas tFRS18 romain t
Aopoh
Cambodge
Episode 3
Tribal Reward FRS20 bastien tFRS20 clementine tFRS20 franck t
FRS20 manuella tFRS20 marjorie tFRS20 sebastien tFRS20 yassin t
Bokor
FRS20 brahma tFRS20 corentin tFRS20 felicie t
FRS20 maria tFRS20 sandro tFRS20 vincent t
Sokka
Fidji
Episode 5
Tribal Reward FRS21 caroline tFRS21 fabian tFRS21 magalie tFRS21 manu t
FRS21 marvyn tFRS21 maxime tFRS21 may tFRS21 tiffany t
Coravu
Les 4 Terres
Episode 1
Tribal Reward FRS25 brice tFRS25 diane tFRS25 dorian t
FRS25 estelle tFRS25 francois tFRS25 jody t
Vakara
FRS25 alix tFRS25 aubin tFRS25 ava t
FRS25 carole tFRS25 mathieu tFRS25 sebastien t
Ceva
FRS25 adrien tFRS25 angelique tFRS25 fabrice t
FRS25 lola tFRS25 mariefrance tFRS25 samuel t
Vualiku

Episode Challenge Type Winners
Nicaragua
Episode 3
Tribal Reward NZS1 barb tNZS1 georgia tNZS1 jak t
NZS1 lee tNZS1 mike tNZS1 nate tNZS1 shannon t
Hermosa

Episode Challenge Type Winners
Survivor Québec (2023)
Episode 29
Tribal Reward QCS1 christophe tQCS1 jeanjunior tQCS1 karine t
QCS1 martine tQCS1 maryse tQCS1 sango t
Tiyaga

Episode Challenge Type Winners
Panama
Episode 6
Tribal Reward ZAS1 brigitte tZAS1 danielle t
ZAS1 mzi tZAS1 nico tZAS1 vanessa t
Aguila
Maldives
Episode 4
Tribal Immunity ZAS4 alison tZAS4 jacques tZAS4 mxo tZAS4 roxy t
ZAS4 sean tZAS4 simon tZAS4 sindi tZAS4 vanessa t
Goma
Island of Secrets
"The Game Chooses for You"
Tribal Immunity ZAS7 dante tZAS7 durao tZAS7 geoffrey t
ZAS7 meryl tZAS7 mmaba tZAS7 nathan tZAS7 nicole t
Sa'ula

Episode Challenge Type Winners
Robinson 2023
Episode 20
Tribal Immunity SES23 alva tSES23 caroline tSES23 christopher tSES23 dennisj t
SES23 marcus tSES23 oskar tSES23 sanna tSES23 sophie t
South Team (Robinson 2023)

Episode Challenge Type Winners
Survivor U.K. (2023)
Episode 3
Tribal Immunity UKS3 jess tUKS3 laurence tUKS3 leilani tUKS3 matthew t
UKS3 nathan tUKS3 rachel tUKS3 shai tUKS3 tinuke t
Caletón

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Ironically, when this challenge was originally used in Palau, the order of which the members of Ulong dropped out (JeffKimAngie, and James) was the order they were voted out.
  • Based on the season's TVGN preview, it appears that this challenge had been planned to appear in Survivor: Micronesia, but was presumably axed due to the medical evacuation and quit that took place before the merge, limiting the number of tribal challenges needed.
  • Corinne Kaplan is the only castaway to have been present for this challenge more than once. She sat out in Gabon (her tribe won) and lost in Caramoan.
  • Rarotonga is the only tribe to win this challenge without sitting anyone out. The three other winning tribes all had a numbers advantage entering the challenge.

References[]

Recurring Challenges
A Bit Dinghy · A Bit Tipsy · A Crate Idea · A Leg Up · A Numbers Game · Air Raid · Angry Chair · Around the Bend · Back in Slack · Balancing Point · Ballin' A Jack · Barrel Bridge · Barrel of Monkeys · Basket Brawl · Better Homes and Island Living · Beyond the Wheel · Blind Leading the Blind · Blue Lagoon Bustle · Blue Plate Special · Boats, Brains & Brawn · Bone to Pick · Boulder Smash · Bow Diddley · Box Your Mind · Braille Maze · Broken China · Buggin' Out · Build It Up, Break It Down · Butch Cassidy · By Any Means Necessary · By the Numbers · Cage Against the Machine · Can't Buoy Me Love · Cannonball Run · Caught in the Web · Cell Block Sea · Challenge Pitch · Chief's Choice · Chimney Sweep · Chinese Zodiac Symbols · Cling Ons · Choose Your Weapon · Coconut Juice · Crate Escape · Crocodile Rock · Crosswalk · Cube Crisis · Dear Liza · Dive Masters · Dizzy Gillespie · Dizzy Miss Lizzy · Domino Effect · Draggin' the Dragon · Dragging the River · Drop A Log · Drum Roll · Dulcimer Stomp · End of the Line · EOC · Eve 6 · Fallen Comrades · Fast Fire · Faulty Towers · Fauxconut Bowling · Fire and Water · Fire Fighter · Fire Starter · Flips, Flops, & Flags · Float Your Boat · Floating Puzzle · Game of Bridge · Gatecrasher · Get a Grip · Get Barreled · Get Hooked · Get Your Goat · Gimme Three Steps · Great Escape Run · Hands on a Hard Idol · Hear About It Ladder · Hot Pursuit · House of Cards · House of the Holey · Idol Hands · Jail Break · Jump Shot · Jungle Relay · Kamikaze · Keel Hauling · Keep It Up · Keep on Your Toes · Kenny Log-Ins · Kicking and Screaming · Kitty Litter · Know Your Loved One · Ladder Tree Golf · Last Gasp · Letter Hunt · Lock, Load and Light · Lock Step · Log Jam · Losing Face · Mask Match · Matchmaker · Matt Finish · Mayan Pizza · Memory · Mud Pack · Mud Slide · Muddy Waters · New School · New Tribe Member · Nut Bucket · O-Black Water · Odd Shaped Bottoms · Operation Balance Build · Out on a Limb · Over-Extended · Paddle Battle · Paddle Out · Perch · Pilfering Pirates · Piranha Feast · Pole Dancing · Pot Head · Push Me, Pull You · Puzzle Dig · Q and A · Quest for Fire · Race to Shore · Ram-Ball On · Rescue Mission · Rice Race · Rise and Shrine · Rock Bottom · Rock n' Roll · Rock the Boat · Rod Screw-It · Roll With It · Roller Ball · Rung O Star · Running Down a Dream · Sacrificial Lamb · Schmergen Brawl · Sea Crates · Sea Legs · Sea Salvage · Shipwrecked · Shoot 'n' Shuffle · Shooting Gallery · Shoulder the Load · Simmotion · Slip, Slide & Score · Slither Me Timbers · Smash and Grab · Snag, Drag and Bag · Snake in the Grass · Snake Island Relay · SOS Signal · Spear-it Hunt · Spit It Out · Splash Back · Sprung a Leak · Squared Off · Squatty Probst · Stacked Up · Stairway to Heaven · Stairway to the Stars · Star Man · Station By Station · Step on Up · Stomp-ede · Strung Out · Sumo at Sea · Survivor Auction · Survivor History · Survivor Pentathlon · Survivor Quiz Show · Swahili Scramble · Swing Break · Tangled Up · Temple Transfer · The Ball Drop · The Cruel Sea · The Game is Afoot · The Gauntlet · The Home Stretch · The Maze · The Obstacle Course · This Much · Thrash, Splash & Bash · TLP O-Course · Tomb Raider · Total Recall · Troubled Water · Uncomfortably Numb · United We Stand · Vampire Bats · Vertically Challenged · Vertigo · Wall to Wall · Well Stacked · What-er Drag · When It Rains, It Pours · Wicker Flicker · Will It Go Round · Witch Hunt · Wrist Assured · Yank Your Hank · You Shook Me
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