Fulfilling his promise

In 1999, Keith Munemitsu first completed the 32-mile voyage from Catalina Island to the Manhattan Beach Pier in honor of his best friend Suzanne Leider, who was suffering from a rare form of cancer called sarcoma.

The two were born days apart and met at Newport Harbor High School, where they had lockers next to one another.

Munemitsu, 32 years old in 1999 and living in Costa Mesa, where he still resides, was not an experienced paddleboarder, but had surfed all of his life and was used to being in the water. He started the race with a 102-degree fever and finished more than 10 hours later, in what he believes to be one of the worst times ever posted in the Catalina Classic.

That year, he raised $40,000 for Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, and the successful experience led him to found his own foundation to support cancer research along with Leider. Later that year, they started the Sarcoma Alliance.

With little in the way of planning, Munemitsu quit his job as an account executive at a sportswear company and dedicated all of his time to his new endeavor.

“There was no thought process,” he said. “I thought, ‘My job sucks, I hate what I do, and my friend is really sick and probably going to die.’”

Leider’s sarcoma didn’t go away, and while she lay on her deathbed in 2002, Munemitsu promised her that he would make a total of 10 Catalina crossings in her honor.

He doesn’t know exactly why he picked that particular feat, but it was important to him at the time to reassure Leider that he would continue to fight cancer.

On Aug. 30, Munemitsu will attempt his 10th crossing, which is something that only a few people have accomplished in the history of the race.

“If there is one promise I’m going to fulfill, it’s this one. I’m going to get 10. I feel that this is a moral imperative for me,” Munemitsu said.

After Leider died, Munemitsu resigned his post at the Sarcoma Alliance. He still believes in its mission, but says 90% of the joy of running the foundation was doing it with his friend.

Three years later, though, he started Team DUKE, another foundation that helps athletes raise money for cancer through their different sports.

The organization is affiliated with the John Wayne Cancer Institute, and the money it raises goes into fellowships for scientists doing cancer research as well as programs to get cancer patients outdoors.

He took on the project with John Wayne’s youngest son, Ethan, who lives in Newport Beach.

Now about 4 years old, the foundation boasts a list of athletes who take on all sorts of challenges — there are really no limits — in the name of raising funds for cancer research.

Munemitsu still carries a picture of Leider in the pocket of his wetsuit as he paddles, and he hopes he will be able to lift a trophy commemorating his accomplishment and the fulfillment of his promise to her next weekend.