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Thirty years ago Dr. Geoff Galbraith signed up with the Honolulu Marathon Clinic, set on finishing his first marathon.

But a business trip came up and he decided to postpone that goal — a decision that haunted him for decades.

Last year, as his 60th birthday approached, Galbraith decided to make good on that failed promise and signed up for the clinic again.

"I'm middle-aged, out of shape, and I was asking myself, 'Why am I doing this?' " said Galbraith, who wasn't doing much more than walking Kailua Beach. "Six weeks into training I still wasn't positive I'd run the marathon. But that's the beauty of this clinic."

He stuck with the weekly clinic, never skipping the scheduled midweek workouts. And last Dec. 9, Galbraith finished his first marathon in 6 hours, 33 minutes.

"I felt so good, I had a blast," he said, crediting the clinic for properly preparing him for the 26.2-mile race. "The whole time I just felt grateful. To be alive, to be part of this group. I was just so grateful."

Since 1974 the Honolulu Marathon Clinic has helped tens of thousands of people — from the sedentary office worker to the experienced runner — train for and finish their first marathon.

Founded by Honolulu cardiologist Dr. Jack Scaff, the nine-month program emphasizes long-distance running in a fun and supportive environment.

This year's clinic starts Sunday at Kapi'olani Park. (See box for details)

"Our goal is to get people who have never run out there running," said Rosemary Kyte, executive director of the Honolulu Marathon Clinic who finished her first marathon in 2002 after participating in the clinic. "The marathon is just the outrageous carrot to get them out there."

Like Galbraith, Kyte wasn't in her best physical shape when she decided to train for the Honolulu Marathon six years ago, just before her 50th birthday. Her friend, who was recovering from breast cancer and wanted to train for her fifth marathon, introduced Kyte to the clinic.

"My goal was to not die, to finish it in the same calendar day, and to never ever train for a marathon again," Kyte said, laughing.

But she stuck with the program and finished her first marathon — injury-free — in 5 hours, 2 minutes. She has run it — and volunteered with the clinic — every year since.

"It's a privilege to see that transformation. It makes me remember my own," Kyte said. "I enjoy reliving that through someone else. I love to hear people say, 'I'm not a runner' and seeing them become runners. I see their well-deserved pride."

The biggest fear of first-time marathoners, she said, is they think they'll be the last to finish — if they even finish at all.

"They'll say, 'I walk too slowly or run too slowly they'll have closed the finish line before I get there,' " Kyte said. "Or they think they'll hit the wall and drop out. The marathon deserves the reputation it has as an elite and extremely difficult event, especially if you don't train for it properly."

Since this program is geared toward first-time runners, it's a comfortable and supportive environment. The pace is slow, the water breaks are often, and the conversation is always lively.

"We run at a conversational pace," Kyte said. "Man, I'm learning about architecture, about comedy training, all kinds of stuff."

After losing 130 pounds through Weight Watchers, Debbie Long wanted to keep those pounds off and signed up for the Honolulu Marathon. It had always been on her life's to do list.

When she attended the first clinic meeting last year — and met all the other first-time marathoners — Long said she knew immediately that finishing the race was possible.

"(The volunteers) made it seem like everybody could do it," said Long, 48, of Manoa. "I thought, 'Oh my God, I can do this.' "

She completed her first marathon in 5 hours, 53 minutes — under her 6-hour goal. Now she's thinking about training for the Moloka'i-to-O'ahu canoe race.

"But I have a feeling I'm going (to run the Honolulu Marathon) again," she said, laughing.

Reach Catherine E. Toth at ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com.