01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, October 13, 2005

BY ANDY SMITH
Journal Television Writer

A bad decision here, a misstep there, and the next thing you know, Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan is solemnly telling you it's all over.

The Aiello family -- dad Tony Aiello of Mansfield and sons-in-law Kevin Kempskie, Matt Hanson and Johnston police officer David Alverson -- met that sad fate on the Emmy-winning CBS reality show Tuesday night.

(The episode was actually shot last summer, but it was a secret until the show aired Tuesday.)

Alverson, 27, is a former Marine who lives in North Providence with his wife, Amy.

In a phone interview from New York City, where the family was doing interviews, Alverson said his team picked the last number to board a centrifuge at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala., and were never able to catch up to the other teams.

"It was still an awesome experience. I would do it again in a heartbeat," Alverson said.

The Amazing Race has teams race around the world, performing various tasks along the way in order to obtain fresh instructions. The last team to arrive at various pit stops along the way is eliminated. The team finishing first wins $1 million.

Unlike the viewers, Alverson said, the teams in the race often don't know how well or badly they're doing, which explains some of the surprised reaction when Keoghan tells them at each pit stop.

In the past, teams consisted of pairs. This time around, the teams were composed of four family members, including children as young as 8.

So far, the Amazing Race teams haven't been out of the United States, which has some fans and critics disgruntled. (A CBS spokesman said the teams would be leaving the country in future episodes.)

Alverson said his team figured they'd be overseas right away, but they were also glad to have a chance to see some of this country. For example, Alverson said he had never visited New York City, which is where the race originated.

Alverson said the race was also a chance to connect with his in-laws.

"Before, we had all known each other on a surfacey, in-law sort of level," Alverson said. "It wasn't until the race that we really got to know each other. We learned a lot -- I think this was the first time they got to see the Marine/cop side of me."

Alverson said he grew up in Lincoln and enlisted in the Marine Corps right after graduating from Lincoln High School in 1996. He spent eight years in the Corps before returning to Rhode Island and joining the Johnston Police.

He said he was gone for about a month on The Amazing Race and had to be vague about why he needed the time off.

Even after CBS publicly announced the Amazing Race cast members, he still couldn't talk about any of the specifics with his colleagues.

"Every Wednesday I went into work, and everyone is excited and talking about the show . . . but the very first day they released the names of the cast, I told them I couldn't say anything," Alverson said.

He said the idea to compete in the race came from his brother-in-law Matt Hanson's wife, Lisa, who applied on The Amazing Race Web site.

Then the family went through a series of interviews before finally being told they were in the running.

"I'm still in awe that we made it onto the show," Alverson said. "I think someone at CBS told me that 25,000 families applied."