A test of mind, body and heart

Alex Coolman

After a few hours of constant paddling through the open ocean, Keith

Munemitsu’s mind started to act a little strangely.

“You’re out there singing songs,� the 33-year-old Newport Beach

resident recalled. “You go: OK, 20 more strokes, 20 more strokes.�

Munemitsu learned about this slightly crazy behavior last year during

the Catalina Classic, a 32-mile paddleboard race from Catalina Island to

Manhattan Beach Pier. He said participating in the grueling contest --

which he finished in a little over five and a half hours -- was the

hardest thing he’s ever done.

But on Aug. 27, he’s doing it again. Not because he loves punishment

but because he cares about a friend he’s known for years.

Suzanne Leider, with whom Munemitsu went through Newport Harbor High

School, has a type of cancer called synovial cell sarcoma. Leider, 33,

who now lives in Mill Valley, has been fighting the devastating and

potentially fatal disease since 1992.

“It’s a very rare form of cancer,� Leider said in a telephone

interview. “But it’s very malignant.�

In 1999, Leider created the Sarcoma Alliance, an organization that

works to educate the public about sarcoma and give support to the people

it afflicts.

Munemitsu’s paddle, Leider and Munemitsu, will give the organization a

fund-raising and publicity boost.

But it’s one thing to talk about paddling a 17-and-a-half-foot board

through the ocean; it’s another thing to do it. Competing in the Catalina

Classic -- not to mention simply finishing it -- requires an enormous

degree of mental and physical discipline.

“It’s all about the power of focus and concentration,� said Munemitsu,

who paddles, lifts weights and swims to get ready for the ordeal.

In many ways, he said, trying to make it to shore on the paddleboard

parallels the effort a sarcoma patient has to make to keep moving from

day to day.

“The guy who wins just has to have the strongest reasons not to quit,�

Munemitsu said. “It’s not superhuman strength. It’s just finding out what

your limits are and being able to push beyond them.�

Leider, who said the effort to create and maintain the Sarcoma

Alliance has helped sustain her, would no doubt agree.

“Even though I have this disease, if I can make a difference for

somebody else, it’s worth it,� she said.