Twin Rush University Grads Join 'The Amazing Race'

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Twins Idries and Jamil Abdur-Rahman appear in this season’s “The Amazing Race.” (Photo courtesy of CBS)
Twins Idries and Jamil Abdur-Rahman appear in this season’s “The Amazing Race.” (Photo courtesy of CBS)

Idries Abdur-Rahman, MD, has been a fan of the reality game show "The Amazing Race" since its first season in 2001. His twin brother, Jamil Abdur-Rahman, MD, didn't really get hooked until the past few seasons.

And now, the 36-year-old brothers, both OB/GYN physicians, will have a chance to get some fans of their own. Idries and Jamil are a team on "The Amazing Race's" 22nd season, which pits 12 teams of pairs against each other, each racing around the world for the chance to win $1 million.

The season started airing on Feb. 17, on CBS.

They work together well -- and often. Idries and Jamil started their own OB/GYN practice, Women's Healthcare Partners of Illinois, in 2006, and the twins, who grew up in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, went to college together at the University of Illinois at Chicago, attended medical school at Rush and even got married the same year.

Idries and Jamil talked with Rush about their experience on The Amazing Race and how they work together as a team.

How has life been since you've been back from the show?

Idries: We took a few days off, and then we jumped back into our everyday routine. It's been fun -- the anticipation of wanting to tell people before you could tell people and then seeing the commercials. But other than that, it's been everyday life: seeing patients, delivering babies.

Was it hard to get back to work after this experience?

Jamil: Surprisingly enough, it wasn't. I thought it might be initially. But just couple of days just to rest and collect ourselves and reflect on everything. Plus, even though The Amazing Race was awesome, you also kind of missed your job and missed your patients and missed your coworkers.

Idries: And your family -- you should mention your wife and kids. [Jamil has two children, and Idries has four.]

How did your medical training help you on the show?

Jamil: One advantage we had going in is that we're used to doing a lot on little sleep and having to perform in stressful situations. But I was concerned -- sometimes, when you have to react, thinking too much may be a disadvantage. We could react under stressful situations and do what we had to do, but at the same time, it could be a bit of a downfall because sometimes you don't want to think; you just want to do.

What kinds of advantages did working so closely together on a regular basis and just generally being twins give you in the competition?

Idries: Being twins and doing things together all of the time, I know how his mind works, and he knows how my mind works. So we've got that unspoken twin bond. We can give each other looks, and we kind of know what the other one is thinking.

How did you prepare for your time on the show?

Idries: We were always pretty physically fit -- we're in the gym every day, and I do taekwondo. One thing I would try to do was mental brain games late at night or early in the morning, just to get my mind used to being functional on little sleep. My brother and I took swimming lessons because we're not the best in the water, and I took some stick shift classes -- I hadn't driven stick in quite some time.

Jamil: I run three or four miles a day, and Idries does some running too. He was going to do a 15k about a week or two before we were going to leave for the Race. I told him, "Don't do it; don't push yourself more than you normally do so you don't get injured."

Idries: But I did the 15k, like, the Sunday before we left. I did it anyway.

Do you think your experience on the show has made you better doctors?

Jamil: It sounds corny, but I think an experience like that almost makes you a better person. You realize that you had an opportunity to do something that most people will never get to do and so it makes you more appreciative. I don't know if it'll make us better doctors -- maybe by default if we're better people, we'll be better doctors -- but I'd say better people more than anything else.

Idries: I agree. It sounds corny, but it was a truly amazing experience, like Jamil said. I think we've been blessed with a lot of things in our lives, and this was another thing we got to do.

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