Amazing Race recap, spoilers: Wisconsin firefighters run for grandma; did former NFL player Rod Gardner and Leticia win again in episode 3?

Warning: Spoilers ahead from Episode 3 of CBS' "The Amazing Race" season 36 that aired on Wednesday, March 27.

"The Amazing Race" season 36 headed to the South American country of Colombia on Wednesday for episode 3 and teams were in for some steep tests.

But no challenge on the show was as difficult as what Wisconsin firefighter Sunny Pulver would experience emotionally during this leg.

At the beginning of the episode, the 41-year-old Edgerton, Wisconsin, woman said she received an emergency call from home the night prior telling her that her grandma had died.

Pulver explained the two were extremely close and how they experienced "a lot of adventures" together.

Pulver is now on an adventure around the world on the Emmy Award-winning reality TV show with her best friend and fellow firefighter Bizzy Smith.

"Let's do this for grandma," Smith told Pulver as they took off for the day.

Grandma would have been proud of her granddaughter. She and Smith moved up two spots after having their best leg of the season and will begin next week in seventh place.

Here's what else happend on "The Amazing Race" tonight involving Pulver and Smith as well as former NFL player Rod Garnder and his wife, Leticia, who also have a Wisconsin connection.

'Badasses' Wisconsin firefighters Sunny Pulver and Bizzy Smith on Amazing Race climb up standings in Colombia after emotional leg

Pulver and Smith came in ninth place the first two legs, which put them in the back of the pack of the 11 remaining teams.

But as they reminded host Phil Keoghan when they checked in during the last leg it wouldn't be wise to underestimate them. They're "badasses" after all, Smith told him.

They showed their fight in this episode. They ran with heavy hearts after learning about the death of Pulver's grandma. But Pulver felt her grandma's spirit with her as she ran this leg.

In the first detour teams had to prepare three plates of a traditional Colombian dish. Three abuelas (grandmas in Spanish) judged the dishes and the presentation. Pulver and Smith successfully completed this task and even passed a couple teams.

Then in the roadblock in which just one person can complete, Pulver decided to take this one on.

Contestants had to gather one kilogram of ripe Arabica coffee beans from plants along a slope. Pulver said she felt close to her grandma during the challenge. Her grandma lived on a farm and they would go apple picking together, Pulver narrated as she did very well in finding the beans quickly.

Pulver said she was "grateful" to experience it.

Did former NFL player Rod Gardner, wife Leticia win another leg on 'The Amazing Race'?

"The Amazing Race" couldn't have gone any better for former NFL player Rod Gardner and his wife, Leticia, the first two weeks. They were impressive in taking first place in those two legs as teams competed in challenges and raced across Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

The Gardners' reign at the top ended in the third episode, but they still ran a solid leg and finished in fifth place. The team that finished second to them the first two legs — Ricky Rotandi and Cesar Aldrete — won this leg.

"Coming in first the first two legs has set the bar high," Rod Gardner said at the beginning of the episode. "But one thing about it is it’s a marathon not a sprint."

They'll have to take that mindset into next week after falling back a bit. They lost their lead at the detour during the cooking challenge when they missed on their first attempt after the abuelas didn't like the presentation on the plate.

Rod received a thumbs down from them, something he wasn't used to early on in the race.

Finding a balance of taking your time so you don't miss the little details while being efficient is what separates teams from others.

The couple had a fun exchange when teams had to climb a 740-step staircase to the top of El Peñon de Guatapé, a landmark with an elevation of over 7,000 feet known as "The Big Guatape Rock" just to get their first clue.

Rod, who played for the Green Bay Packers during the 2005 season, raced ahead and encouraged his wife.

"You can make it like Rocky Balboa," Rod tells her, referencing the "Rocky" movie character.

Leticia, in a confessional, tells him: "What was that storybook, the rabbit and the turtle?" Leticia, of course, was referring to "The Tortoise and the Hare."

"I don’t want to be the turtle," Rod replies back to her. "But the turtle ended up winning," Leticia reminds him.

"Yeah, I don’t want to be that slow," Rod playfully tells her.

Is there some foreshadowing with this clip about who they are on the race and where they finish? Either way, it was banter between the couple that make them a likeable duo and easy to root for.

Who went home on Amazing Race tonight? Twins on Amazing Race eliminated

Twins Anthony and Bailey Smith were eliminated after checking in to Keoghan last.

The 26-year-olds from Clearwater, Florida, began the leg in the bottom group and their inabilities and indecisions at the roadblock were costly. They switched between two tasks three times when they couldn't figure them out.

Ultimatey, the brothers completed the cooking task — their fourth attempt at a roadblock — after leaving it once, but by this point they were mentally exhausted. The race had taken a toll on them and they could never catch up.

They were sent home while heavy rains came down on them atop a slope in Guatapé, Colombia.

Amazing Race season 36 teams, cast, order of finish after third leg

• Ricky Rotandi and Cesar Aldrete (dating) - First place after leg three
• Amber Craven and Vinny Cagungun (dating) - Second place
• Derek Williams and Shelisa Williams (married) - Third place
• Juan Villa and Shane Bilek (best friends) - Fourth place
• Rod and Leticia Gardner (married; Rod is a former NFL wide receiver who briefly played for the Green Bay Packers in the 2005 season) - Fifth place, drops four spots
• Yvonne Chavez and Melissa Main (dating) - Sixth place
• Sunny Pulver and Bizzy Smith (best friends/firefighters from Wisconsin) - Seventh place, up two spots
• Kishori Turner and Karishma Cordero (cousins) - Eighth place
• Angie and Danny Butler (mother, son) - Ninth place
• Michelle and Sean Clark (married) - 10th place
• Anthony and Bailey Smith (twin brothers) - Eliminated in third episode
• Chris Foster and Mary Cardona-Foster (father-daughter) - Eliminated in second episode
• Rohan and Maya Mody (brother, sister) - Eliminated in first episode

When time is the Amazing Race on tonight?

The third episode of "The Amazing Race" season 36 airs at 8:30 p.m. Central time Wednesday, March 27.

Episodes are 90 minutes following "Survivor."

What channel is Amazing Race on?: Where can I watch on TV, streaming

"The Amazing Race" airs weekly on CBS.

You can stream the "The Amazing Race" on the CBS app and Paramount Plus. Fubo offers a free trial.