Persistent Salt Lake girl is swingin' on a star

Like the Energizer Bunny, Amanda Gowans keeps going and going.

And swinging with the pain landed the west-side Salt Lake resident in the Guinness Book of World Records. She is the daughter of Sharon and Bob Gowans, 1158 Simondi.

For 30 straight hours, from 12:30 p.m. May 27 until 6:30 p.m. May 28, Gowans swung on an indoor Component Playground swing to earn the record. She estimates she averaged 6.14 miles per hour and traveled about 180 miles. When it was all over, Gowans was wobbly, sore and very tired.

In mid-September, Guinness verified in a mailed certificate to her what she already knew: "The longest swinging marathon by an individual is 30 hours by Amanda Gowans (USA) at Component Playgrounds, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, from 27-28 May, 2005."

Her three-year goal of setting a world record had been realized. Training regimen included an hour of swinging most days.

Because the 2006 Guinness Book has already been printed, Gowans said she probably would be featured in the 2007 edition.

Even though it was "really hot" with 90-plus temperatures on her record-setting days, Gowans said a nearby air conditioner cooled her off. The exhaustion of a 30-hour workout set off painful cramps in her right leg. Her uncle, Orem emergency room physician Jim Gowans, told her not to walk for a couple of hours.

With all of this, she still reached her goal, said father Bob Gowans. "Whatever she sets her mind to, she really goes after it," he said. It's not with fanfare, either.

"She's always been kind of quiet and reserved," said the dad, "which runs in the family."

But it wasn't without some trepidation, observed Sharon Gowans, Amanda's mother. "She got out of her comfort zone." Her daughter received much support from extended family, schoolteachers and friends.

The Guinness Book allows swingers three 15-minute breaks every eight hours.

"She survived it, but I don't know how she did," said Component Playgrounds owner Clark Dillon. "It was an amazing feat. I run marathons, but compared to what she's done, (swinging) is quite an accomplishment."

Just to stay awake for 30 hours "is an accomplishment to me," he said.