Waubonsee Auto Tech students Tristan Silva, Yovani Alcantar and Nick Aidonis worked on an RV being driven across the U.S. as Adam Kimble pursues a word record in running.
As Adam Kimble races across the country in an attempt to break a world record that has stood for decades, his support team will follow in an RV – which they named Carol - that got a little TLC from some Waubonsee Community College auto tech students earlier this month.
In a Facebook post, Kimble said “We're headed west! The RV is packed, the crew is ready and we're on our way to Huntington Beach, CA. Special thanks to Waubonsee Community College auto technicians for ensuring that our RV will run smoothly during this coast to coast adventure.”
Originally from Minooka, Ill., Kimble, 29, is attempting to break a Guinness World Record for the Fastest Crossing of America on foot by a male, a record that has previously stood for 36 years. Kimble is trying to run across the United States in 45 days or less. He began his run this week from Huntington Beach, Ca. and will cross 16 states (3,030 miles) before ending in New York City.
Ken Kunz, Professor of Automotive Technology, is friends with Kimble and his family, and felt that working on the RV would be a good experience for his students.
“I am always looking for work to give the students different experiences,” he said. “We had never done an RV before.”
Kunz had three of this students – Tristan Silva, Yovani Alcantar and Nick Aidonis – look over the RV to be sure it could handle the trip, and perform basic maintenance.
Prior to working on the RV, the biggest vehicle Silva, of Maple Park, had ever worked on was a passenger van.
“So it was pretty cool to do an RV,” he said. “It was well maintained. And then hearing the story behind it, that’s really neat that we could help out.”
Alcantar’s passion since childhood has been working on cars, but Carol was his first RV.
“At first I thought working on the RV would be really overwhelming but once we looked at it I realized it was like any other vehicle,” he said.
Alcantar added that he was glad they got to be part of Kimble’s goal. “What he is doing is really impressive to me,” he said. “Not many people would even try it.”
Follow Adam Kimble in his run across the U.S.
