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.
On Amanda Gowans' second break, "I almost walked into the wall when going to the bathroom." When the marathon was over, she was hurt and wobbly, walking slow and leaning back and forth. She even solicited her dad to park in a handicapped parking stall.
Sharon Gowans remembered her daughter "didn't know if her leg hurt more than being tired. It took a couple of days for her to get her appetite back, (so) she drank fluids. We couldn't even entice her to eat pizza."
Amanda Gowans slept all the next day, which was Sunday, instead of attending church. After awakening, she steadied herself with her mother's help and walked several steps. The Ames Charter School student didn't miss any classes in making history.
And her LDS 29th Ward, among others, didn't lose out in reveling in the accomplishment. "People said, 'If Amanda can do that . . . ' " noted her mother, trailing off. She estimates 20-25 friends, teachers and others offered congratulations, some probably because of a notice in the ward's Relief Society newsletter.
Amanda Gowans' pursuit of excellence was a long and winding road. In March 2004, she swung for 24 hours, but it was less than a Washington, D.C., boy, who previously stayed in the saddle for 30 minutes longer.
Sharon Gowans remembered how disappointed her daughter was in claiming, "I gotta do better than that." She decided her break time needed cutting, but she never received any information on Guinness' policy.
During her first try at the record, Amanda Gowans said blisters developed all over her right hand and lasted a week, while the worst became callused. In addition, she felt like her exhausted body needed extra time in getting to class. "The teachers laughed and said she can have all the time she wants," grinned Sharon Gowans.
It took her about 10 days to get back into a regular school routine.
Lessons Amanda Gowans learned from the first attempt at a world record included keeping her hands pretty callused for the next shot, said her father. "She had better preparation and held up better the second time."
Besides on-site medical personnel to address injuries or illness, witnesses were there to document the record-setting day. Many friends were at Component Playgrounds to encourage Amanda Gowans, while several customers also looked on.
She said she reserved Salt Lake's Riverside Park swings in January because of their length and longer radius. But a funny thing happened on the way to making history. Just days before the event, the city tore out the playground equipment en route to replacing it. "I scrambled to find a place to replace the park," said the determined girl.
Even though Amanda Gowans had practiced on her own swing set, "The rules said it had to be done in a public place," she mused. It only took one call to find the right place.
Sharon Gowans said she successfully admonished her daughter "in your responsibility" to make good on finding a venue to go after the record. Component Playgrounds was very accommodating, Amanda Gowans said, in allowing her to reschedule the event at its store. Her father agreed, adding it was also appreciated.
Bob Gowans noticed his daughter's penchant for finishing anything started right around third or fourth grade when she was playing baseball. It's carried over into her academic pursuits, said her mother, because, "That's where we really noticed. Her GPA is about 3.8 or 3.9," said Sharon Gowans.
When Amanda Gowans first pursued the swinging record, "we chuckled," said her dad. "Sure, you want to swing. But she wouldn't let go of it and kept persisting."
Now, she's persisted herself into a world record. "I've never liked quitting," she said. "Once I start, I don't quit."