BANTAYOG AGRI-FISHERY MARATHON 2026: 53rd Marathon. 30th Province in the Bucket List

 

Having a bucket list as one gets older serves a powerful tool for maintaining purpose, improving mental and physical health, and ensuring a fulfilling life transition. It shifts the focus from simply aging to active, joyful living, helping to turn ordinary weekends into meaningful memories.

For the Bicolano Penguin (BP), my bucket list is to run a marathon or ultra in the many provinces of our beloved Philippines.  It offers a "runcation" experience, combining challenging courses with scenic landscapes, rich history, and festive local culture.  Started this bucket list of mine more than a decade ago and it has offered a beautiful and bountiful experience for the BP.

This weekend (May 8-9), the BP had the pleasure of joining the Bantayog Agri-Fishery Marathon 2026.  After successfully finishing the 42km route within the generous finisher cut off time, I can jubilantly now say that this marathon in Daet is my 53rd marathon and Camarines Norte is the 30th province that the BP has ran a marathon.  Thankful for this captivating experience.

The Bantayog Agri-Fishery Marathon 2026 is a purposeful runing event held in the province of Camarines Norte, specifically in the capital town of Daet and its neighboring towns of Mercedes, Talisay, Vinzons and Labo.  It is a loop course marathon with the start and finish line located in the same area which is the provincial capitol. Many long-time runners in the province refer to the Bantayog Agri-Fishery Marathon 2026 as the very first full marathon to be held in Camarines Norte. 

This marathon is actually part of the Bantayog Festival which is weeks-long celebration in Camarines Norte held annually in the summer months to commemorate the province's founding anniversary and honor local heroes of the 1898 Daet Revolt.  Centered on the first-ever monument built for National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal ("Unang Bantayog ni Rizal"), it features cultural shows, beauty pageants, street dance, trade fairs  and the marathon.  The official activities of 2026 Bantayog festival were actually cancelled due to the ongoing fuel crisis. Despite the festival's cancellation this 2026, several activities organized by the private sector still pushed thru, with the provincial government offering support in promotion and marketing, but not funding these events. One of these privately-organized Bantayog events that pushed thru is the Agri-Fishery Marathon. 

Purpose of the Bantayog Agri-Fishery Marathon 2026 is to support, honor and raise awareness for local farmers and fisherfolks.  In the words of the race organizers - "...we honor the dedication, resilience, and invaluable contributions of our farmers and fisherfolks who sustain our communities."     

Bantayog Agri-Fishery Marathon 2026 is organized by the Agri-Run Club which is a running club in Camarines Norte known for promoting fitness and agricultural awareness through running events.  This running club is often associated with the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist   (OPAg) of Camarines Norte. The founder of Agri-Run Club is Engr. Almirante Abad who is the provincial agriculturist. 

Provincial Agriculurist Engr. Almirante Abad is the founder of the Agri Run Club. 

Agri-Run Club officers and members responsible for the Bantayog Agri-Fishery Marathon 2026  

It was quite fitting and telling that the very first marathon that the Agri-Run Club organized is an event that celebrated the importance of our local farmers and fisherfolks.  This is very inspiring.  Economically,  Camarines Norte relies heavily on agriculture with significant production of grain crops, vegetables, coconuts, root crops, fruits and fish.  Gov. Ricarte "Dong" Padilla has emphasized strengthening the agriculture sector through modernization and direct support to enhance food security.  The provincial government leadership of Gov. Dong Padilla and Vice Governor Joseph Acustia aligns to boost local agriculture and aquaculture to secure economic growth and achieve food security in these challenging climate change times.  

The running event was organized to directly connect the public, particularly the running community, with its food producers promoting the "TARA, TAKBO AT MAMALENGKE" advocacy.    An agri feature of the Bantayog Agri-Fishery Marathon 2026 is that local products such as watermelon, banana, sweet potato and brown eggs were featured at the aid stations. Also, part of the registration fees was used to purchase local produce like rice and pineapple  which was then given as prizes to the race winners and participants.  Inspiring and admirable indeed.      

Admirable also is the fact that despite it is their first try, the organizers of the marathon led by Agri-Run Club did a good job.  It was not an easy task but the Agri-Run Club and its partners had a bountiful supply of passion for the sports of running.  Bountiful too is the number registered participants at 1,069:  138 for 42kms; 150 for 21kms; 280 for 10kms; and 501 for 5kms. These runners came from far and wide, and many of them represented 46 running clubs and teams.   

List of running clubs represented in the Bantayog Agri-Fishery Marathon 2026.  Proud and happy to see our fledgling First Balfour Marathon Club included in the list. 

A good job in delivering an enjoyable and unforgetable experience for the runners. Yup. Don't take my word for it.  I based my statement on the many comments and posts in social media by runners and running clubs that participated in the Bantayog Agri-Fishery Marathon 2026.   Here are a handful of these positive comments:

1.  Joiners Run Club , known as a "club of clubs", is a community-driven collective from the diverse running tribes of Camarines Norte.  Highly visible in the local sports  scene in the province, the Joiners Run Club fielded a strong contingent across multiple distance categories of the Bantayog Agri-Fishery Marathon 2026. Here is what they posted in their facebook page about the marathon:

"Dear Organizing Committee, Agri Run Club.  We wanted to take a moment to express our sincere gratitude for the incredible experience at this year's AgriFish Marathon. Putting together an event that celebrates both atheticism and our local agricultural and fishing heritage is no small feat, and it was executed brilliantly. You've created more than just a race; you've built a platform that brings community together and highlights the vital industries that sustain us..."

All smiles are the jubilant members of Joiners Run Club at the finish line 

2.  Calling himself a "bagohan",  Jose Jhie Espina is a newbie runner from the gold town of Jose Panganiban in Camarines Norte.  He ran in the 10km category of the  Bantayog Agri-Fishery Marathon 2026 and this is his exclamation of the experience: 

"Sana palage (Agri-Fishery Marathon 2026).  Nakakahappy lang 😍😊.  Salamat and congrats sa lahat ng Organzers 👏." 

Newbie runner Jhie Espina basking in the festivities at the race village 

3.  A well-recognized and highly-respected figure in the Bicol running scene, Wilmor Plopinio is an uber veteran when it comes to marathons and ultra marathons. At the Bantayog Agri-Fishery Marathon 2026, he was one of the top  finishers in the full marathon senior citizen category (60 years old and above). This is his candid  asessment of  how the marathon was organized:

"Well organized naman.  Meron lang konting lapses. Walang marshall sa main corner of the highway of the route.  Nawala nga ako. Naging 45kms yong run ko.  But no regret. I was not able to attend the orientation.  Happy pa rin ako and thanks sa napakadaming freebies and entitlements." 

 

Veteran runner Wilmor Plopinio is part of the Caceres Runners Club contingent that participated in the Bantayog Agri-Fishery Marathon  

4.  A friend from our row5runnin days in Cam Sur, Mina Roxas is based in Cam Norte. She is a regular and refreshing presence in the local zumba scene in Daet.  Given her strong cardio endurance, Mina topped her age category at the 5km distance of the Bantayog Agri-Fishery Marathon 2026. This is what she has to say about the organizers:

"In my opinion, the Agri-Run Club did a great job managing the Bantayog Agri-Fishery Marathon because the event was well-organized, the food and drinks were well-prepared, and the overall flow of the race was smooth. Though the vegetable distribution was disappointing due to poor coordination , but overall everyone went home happy and satisfied."  

Happy. Satisfied. That is exactly what I felt participating in my 53rd marathon.   Kudos indeed to the Agri-Run Club for a good job organizing the Bantayog Agri-Fishery Marathon 2026. From my perspective, they prepared for this quite well, from  coordinating with the relevant government agencies to mustering race volunteers and to making this marathon have a local feel to it. 

Sharing here a number of photos of my marathon experience in Camarines Norte.

Runners (veterans and first timers) attending the race briefing held at Bel Air Resort in Daet. 

Provincial Board Member Lukad de Lima giving an inspirational message at the start of the race briefing.

Having a photo with Lukad and Tatay Crispin (a 70+ year old marathoner) 

Burger snack at the race briefing

   

Engr Jay Canaria of Agri-Run Club giving a briefing on the race route.

The starting area in front of the Camarines Norte provincial capitol an hour before the 10pm start.  

The Bicolano Penguin with La Consolacion grade school classmate Ruvill and Ateneo high school classmate Bob before the gun start.    

The BP and Bob at the finish line together with a volunteer pacer.  We are the last men to cross the 42km finish line. But still within the finisher cut off time. Almost 2 hours to go before the 8am cut off.  

Thankful for the successful and safe run.

As always, Bob has a stoic face at the finish line. 

Proudly showing off the finisher towe. Proudly wearing the running shirt of the First Balfour Marathon Club.  

All the finishers received a 3kg bag of rice. Very appropriate for a marathon that celebrates the importance of agriculture. 

Local farm produce like pineapple were distributed to the runners after the race program.  Endemic to Camarines Norte, the Queen Formosa pineapple is renowned as one of the sweetest pineapple varieties.  

Corn for every runner.

The uber energetic Ms. Yesha of Agri-Run Club hosting the awards program.

Meeting old and new friends at the finish line: the ladies of DTL Movers and A Force Senoras & Senoritas   

Always thankful to the Almighty above for the gift of running. 

Enjoyed the marathon. Enjoyed the province.  Enjoying the province while running a marathon, often called a "runcation" or "race-cation"  combines the thrill of racing with the beauty of local scenery, fresh air, and welcoming communities.  Marathon tourism is a rapidly growing trend globally and looks to be here locally. It is a popular way to explore, with many provincial races offering scenic views, such as the Bohol International Marathon   featuring the powdery beaches of Panglao and an abundance of succulent lechon at the aid stations, and the Mayon 360 Ultramarathon    boasting an 80-km  view of the perfect cone of the Mayon Volcano. 

Many runners agree that moving through a landscape  while also breaking a sweat has a profound effect on one's sense of place.  That is what I felt. Running the Bantayog Agri-Fishery Marathon 2026 last weekend provided me a deeper understanding of the province of Camarines Norte and the capital town of Daet.  Have written in the past about Camarines Norte and its richness in nature. Back in 2013, I wrote about the blue oasis that are the  Calaguas Islands. Still on the tropical islands, in 2014, a subject of my blog article is one of the islands off Mercedes, the Quinapaguian Island.   Speaking of mangroves, the first time I planted mangroves was in 2015 on the mouth of the Basud River in Mercedes.  And last year, the  Mangroves of Mambulao is a paradise I enjoyed immensely. Thanks to Ateneo de Naga High School Batch 1983 classmate Epok Dacudao and relatives like Geom de Lima who are based in Cam Norte, I have a broad appreciation of the beauty of the province.  

Calaguas Islands circa 2013

Quinapaguian Island circa 2014

Mangrove Planting in Basud River, Mercedes circa 2015

Mangroves of Manbulao (Jose Panganiban) circa 2025

But appreciation of the province  can still be enhanced and this was made possible in our participation in the Bantayog Agri-Fishery Marathon 2026. Joining me on the weekend of May 8-10 in our trip to Camarines Norte   are my high school batchmates. After the marathon, we had the opportunity to partake of the agri-tourism and food that the province has to offer. We actually brought back seafood as pasalubong on our  trip back to Metro Manila.

Camarines Norte is bountiful with seafood thanks to its location of being bounded by the Philippine Sea (Pacific Ocean) on the northeast and Lamon Bay to the west. The port of Mercedes is widely recognized as one of the most vital fishing ports in Luzon and is referred to as the "fish bowl of the Bicol Region." While we were not able to go to market in Mercedes, we did go to the public market in Daet early in the morning  and it was full with delicious seafood that mostly originated from the port of Mercedes.  We had a grand time going to market.   

The seafood section of the public market in Daet. 

The vivid color is a sign of the  freshness of the squid being sold at the Daet public market

Pampano, Lapu Lapu, Apahap. Take your pick of fish for sinigang.   

From the more intense natural color, we can tell that the shrimp sold in the Daet public market are caught from the wild and not from a prawn farm. They are prized for a "taste of the sea."    

After the early morning trip to the Daet public market, we enjoyed breakfast at the coffee shop of the Bagasbas Resort Hotel.

In closing this article of yet another running adventure of the Bicolano Penguin, allow me to quote the sage words of Provincial Board Member John Carlo "Lukad" de Lima who is the Committee Chairman on Tourism of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan . On a personal note, he is the son of a relative and family friend from  Iriga City who got married to a lovely lady from the town of Labo. Here is what Bokal Lukad had to say when I asked him  what does the May 17-18 marathon mean to the people of the  beautiful province of Camarines Norte:        

"Para sa akin, ang Bantayog Agri-Fishery Marathon ay hindi lamang isang simpleng karera. Ipinakikita nito ang lakas at pagkakaisa ng ating mamamayan, gayundin ang likas na ganda at yaman ng aming probinsiya, kung saan nagsasanib ang sports, kultura, at kabuhayan sa isang makabuluhang karanasan. Para sa ating mga mamamayan, isa itong paalala na sa bawat hakbang, dala natin ang puso ng ating kommunidad at ang dangal ng  ating mga magsasaka at mangingisda , na siyang higit pang nagpapatingkad sa ating turismo." 

Tumpak.