Comedian Lewis Black once quipped that he considered the International House of Pancakes his health club because "no matter what you weigh, there will always be somebody there who weighs 150 pounds more than you will ever weigh."

Who knew the same would be true of the Honolulu Marathon?

Three-hundred-pound Waimanalo resident Keith Kauwe certainly didn't, at least not at first.

In 2005, Kauwe's father trained with the Honolulu Marathon Clinic in preparation for the Honolulu Marathon that December. Kauwe, 39, would drop off his father, Keith Sr., at the regular meeting spot at Kapi'olani Park and watch, with mild amazement, at the diversity of runners the clinic attracted — including full-bodied, seemingly out-of-shape guys like himself. It was a revelation.

"I'd see guys get off the bus who didn't look like traditional runners," he says. "They looked more like me, and I thought to myself, 'maybe I can do this.' "

Last year, Kauwe and his cousin Shelly Aiona "rolled off the couch" (his words), laced up the running shoes and dropped the "maybe."

Over nine months, hundreds of miles, and immeasurable support from a new community of friends and fellow runners, Kauwe said he transformed himself inside and out in preparation for what would be the biggest physical test of his life. On Dec. 14, brimming with confidence, he completed the 26.2-mile course in 6 hours, 57 minutes.

Kauwe will be back at Kapi'olani Park when the clinic starts anew March 11 (see box) — and this time he's bringing friends.

"I did a lot of my training in Waimanalo and people thought I was crazy when they saw me running around," he says. "Now, my neighbors want to do it, too."

Established by Dr. Jack Scaff, the Honolulu Marathon Clinic — staffed by volunteers and offered free to all comers — has been turning out graduates like Kauwe for more than 30 years.

The clinic meets each Sunday, 7:30 a.m., at Kapi'olani Park for a brief, instructive talk by Scaff and his senior volunteers and a training run.

Each of the volunteer coaches, about 40 in all, are veterans of at least one marathon. Runners can opt to train with beginner, intermediate or advanced groups. The runs themselves are short at first — anywhere from a simple walk around the park for absolute beginners to a 5- or 6-mile run for more advanced runners — and get progressively longer as the season advances.

While beginners are advised to start as early as possible, many experienced marathoners join the clinic in the late summer or fall, using the Sunday training as their designated weekly long run.

The magic mark for first-timers is to be able to run for one hour straight, three times a week, in addition to the Sunday long run.

"Beginners usually have two major concerns," says volunteer coach Rosemary Kyte, 53. "One, that their body will fall about and they won't be able to do the marathon. Two, that they'll collapse and die.

"What they learn is that if they keep training consistently and stick with the program, they'll be OK," she says.

Kyte ran her first marathon five years ago. She'd been thinking about it while still on active duty in the Army — "What I wanted was to wake up and be in shape, but I didn't want to do the work — and finally made the jump when a close friend decided to do the race as a way of celebrating her recovery from breast cancer."

They both joined the clinic.

"I went that whole first year thinking I would collapse, but when the marathon came around it was a pleasant surprise to find out that all of that training had paid off," Kyte said.

Kyte set her personal record of 4:47 on her third try, but these days she draws her satisfaction from helping beginning runners find their way to their first marathon finish line.

"It's a big, hairy audacious goal," she says. "It's amazing to me when I see people get over the idea of 'never' could and start thinking 'maybe I can.' "

Kyte was right there beside Kauwe as he struggled through his last few miles, alternately running and walking from telephone pole to telephone pole.

"It was super-cool to run together," Kauwe said. "I knew at mile 18 that I was going to finish, even if I had to walk. That's the powerful part of the experience that you can carry with you into other areas like work or your family life."

Like Kyte, Kauwe found that the clinic not only prepared him to run 26.2 miles, it also provided him a network of friends and inspired a change in lifestyle he hopes will continue.

"I never felt like a runner before, but my experience from the clinic showed me that it was about more than just running," he said. "It's a lifestyle. It feels good and I'm happy all the time. I have extra energy, I laugh a lot, and I've made a lot of friends. It's definitely done something for my confidence and esteem."

And Kauwe hopes it might also do something for those in his Waimanalo community.

"As Hawaiians, our ethnic community as a whole is not exactly the healthiest of the races," he says. "But maybe if they see me at 300 pounds doing this race, they'll feel that they can do it, too. I've always wanted to help other people in any way I can. If this is the path, then this is the path."

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.