Ray Peden: His passion is open water swimming

Hundreds of swimmers will leap from a ferry Sunday in the inaugural Escape from Lewes swim.

Watching out for them will be Ray Peden. A veteran Rehoboth Beach lifeguard and one of the region's most passionate open water swimmers, he will be ready to ensure everyone makes it to shore.

Peden, 60, is a huge advocate for the sport of open water swimming, having competed in and officiated countless events since the 1960s. The former state trooper and seven-year Rehoboth Beach Patrol lifeguard was in the pool by age 5, winning championships during the heyday of Wilmington Aquatic Club. His success continued through Salesianum School and York College. Decades later, the passion has not been washed over, as he still competes and officiates swimming events across the country. Recently, he took top honors in his age group at the Open Water Masters National Championships in Lake George, N.Y.

Peden logged a time of 37:33 in the 2.5K (1.55 miles) to win the 60-64 age group. His time was also good enough for 16th overall in the 115-swimmer competition.

“Open water swimming is the purest form of competitive swimming in my opinion,” he said. “It's been around since the beginning of time. It was around before any pool swimming occurred, and I'm hoping it makes a resurgence here in Delaware.”

Open water swimming, added as a sport at the Beijing Summer Games in 2008, is now the fastest growing Olympic sport in the world, Peden said. It is also one of the most competitive, he said. Of the nearly 170 countries that sent athletes to the Olympics, only 25 slots are available for open water swimmers, meaning most countries' top swimmers are not even permitted to compete in the 10K event.

To prepare for the national championship, Peden trained seven days a week for three months – two to three days a week on land, but the rest was in the pool or the ocean. As a lifeguard, he said, he was fortunate to have access to some of the best training partners in the area.

“The ocean and beach have been my office,” he said. “I'm lucky to have college-level swimmers that are lifeguards here to train with me in the morning. They've been a real asset.”

Peden has served in the Rehoboth Beach Patrol for seven years after a 29-year career in the Delaware State Police, where he rose to the rank of sergeant. He was a team leader and sniper for the Special Operations and Response Team, essentially SWAT.

Despite a busy work life, Peden still found time to rack up quite a list of accomplishments.

In 1982, Peden completed the daunting Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon World Championships, a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run. Two years later, he was the American record holder in the 26.2-mile swim, completing the task by swimming 1,846 lengths of a 25-yard pool in just over 12 hours.

In 1986, Peden was the 288th person to successfully swim the English Channel. Today, he is one of only three Delawareans to have ever completed the swim.

“The English Channel is a very interesting body of water,” he said. “There are only so many days a year you can cross because of the currents, the cold water. Credentials to even compete have gone up because people have died going across.”

At age 55 in 2010, Peden was the overall winner of a 12.5-mile open water swim in Key West, Fla. Five years later, Peden shows no signs of slowing down. When not swimming himself, he is often found on the fringes in an official capacity. He is a certified official in NCAA collegiate swimming, DIAA high school swimming and Mid-Atlantic open water swimming. He has also served as a member of the U.S. Middle Atlantic Open Water Swimming Committee, one of the country's major governing bodies for open water swimming.

He says the support of his family is very important.

“I'm very fortunate to have married a woman that is very understanding of my hobbies,” he said. “Rainy, my wife, she's probably been my biggest supporter.”

Peden passed the swimming gene down to his daughter too. Dayna, 27, was an accomplished swimmer at Ursuline Academy in Wilmington and at the University of Tampa.

As for what's next, Peden said, he may step it up a notch next year to compete in the open water 5K. No doubt he'll have top notch training partners on the beaches of Rehoboth again next summer.

Accomplishments

• Captain of Salesianum School's first state championship swim team in 1973

• Four-year captain of York College's men's swim team from 1973-77, setting 42 pool and team records

• Completed the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon World Championships in 1982

• American record holder in the 26.2-mile swim in 1984

• Becomes 288th person in history to swim the English Channel in 1986

• Awarded the Order of the First State by Gov. Mike Castle in 1986, the highest honor a governor can bestow upon a civilian

• Inducted into York College Hall of Fame in 1990

• Won 200- and 400-yard freestyle in 35-39 age group at World Police Olympics in 1992

• Wins overall title at the annual 12.5-mile open water swim around Key West in 2010

• Placed top 3 in age group at Great Chesapeake Bay Bridge 4.4-mile swim in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2014

• Winner of the 60-64 age category in the 2.5K at the U.S. Masters Open Water Swimming Championship in Lake George, N.Y.