15/09/2026
⚠️ Long post ahead.
This may be longer than the usual post, but there were simply too many people, too many small acts of kindness, and too many moments behind this marathon that deserve to be remembered.
If you make it all the way to the end, thank you. More than anything, we hope you will understand why this race meant so much to us, and why every person who helped, ran, prayed, cheered, served or simply showed up became part of its story.
________________________
A week has passed since the 4th CRC Peñafrancia Marathon 2026, and the race village is quiet again.
The barricades are gone. The roads are back to normal. The tents have been packed away. Our approximately 3,300 runners from the 42K, 21K, 10K and 5K have gone home and returned to their everyday lives.
But some moments stay with us.
A marshal standing on a dark road before sunrise. Volunteers filling cups. Someone carrying equipment at midnight. A responder waiting beside an ambulance. Someone answering an urgent call because something suddenly had to be solved.
People saw a marathon that lasted several hours.
We saw everything and everyone behind those hours.
First, to the reason all of us were there:
our runners.
To all our approximately 3,300 participants — our 42K, 21K, 10K and 5K runners — salamat sa tiwala.
You trained for weeks or months. You traveled. You woke up at hours when most people were still asleep. You spent your time, effort and resources, and then entrusted your race experience and safety to us.
We never want to take that trust lightly.
To the first-timers and returning runners, seasoned athletes and recreational runners; to those from Naga and the rest of Bicol, and those who traveled from different parts of Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and abroad— thank you for choosing to run with us.
Some chased personal bests. Some simply wanted to finish. Some ran in thanksgiving. Some offered every kilometer as a panata. Some ran for a parent, spouse, child, friend or someone they deeply missed.
We celebrate those who reached the podium, but we also remember those who cramped, slowed down, walked, struggled and still kept moving.
Courage is not always measured by the race clock.
Seeing all of you running through Naga made the months of preparation worthwhile.
Because without the runners, there is no marathon.
There is only an empty road.
And this has never been just another road race for us.
The Peñafrancia Marathon is our Run for Ina. Our Panata Run.
Our heartfelt thanks to Rev. Fr. Xavier Amoroso, who led the blessing of our 42K runners before the midnight gun start. There was something special about sending runners into 42 kilometers not first with a countdown, but with prayer.
To Rev. Fr. Christian Guran, thank you for leading the blessing of our 21K runners before they began their journey through the early morning darkness.
And to Rev. Fr. Eugene A. Lubigan, thank you for your presence, support, blessing and message to our runners. You helped remind us that beyond the distances, finish times and medals was something deeper: faith, devotion and community.
Our gratitude goes to the Basilica Minore de Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia, its clergy, personnel and the parish communities that welcomed and prayed for our runners.
Some runners carried race bibs that morning.
Others carried intentions, thanksgiving and prayers that perhaps only they and Ina knew.
A very special thank you as well to Mayor Leni Robredo for your support to our runners and the CRC community, and to the entire City Government of Naga for working with us to bring thousands of people safely onto the streets of our city.
To the personnel of CEPPIO, ITPO, MDRRMO, NCHO, SWMO, PSO, and OLLI, thank you for the meetings, coordination, traffic and public safety work, sanitation, emergency preparations and field duty, much of it happening while most of Naga was still asleep.
To Coach Tolits, thank you for leading the warm-up of our 42K runners before asking their bodies to face another 42 kilometers.
And to Zin Jen, thank you for bringing so much energy to the race village and leading the Zumba/warm-up for our 10K and 5K runners before their morning races.
To our hosts, Ian and Kyla, thank you for carrying the program from one part of the night to the next, keeping the crowd informed, energized and connected even through the long hours of the event.
And to DJ Ken Basco, thank you for keeping the race village alive with music and energy from the late-night preparations all the way into the morning. The runners may have been the ones moving on the road, but you helped make sure the race village never lost its pulse.
Our gratitude also goes to the barangay officials, tanods, volunteers and residents of Balatas, Cararayan, Carolina, Concepcion Pequeña, Pacol, Peñafrancia, San Felipe, San Francisco, San Isidro and Triangulo.
We know that road closures and thousands of runners passing through your communities meant inconvenience. Thank you for your patience and cooperation, and especially to those residents who stood outside their homes simply to clap, cheer and encourage strangers.Sometimes one tired runner only needed to hear one person shout, “Kaya mo yan!” And that was enough for another kilometer.
To our Presenting Sponsor, Palawan Pawnshop - Palawan Express Pera Padala, thank you for believing in the vision of the CRC Peñafrancia Marathon and trusting us even before the roads filled with runners.
To Pocari Sweat (Philippines), our Platinum Sponsor and Official Hydration Partner, thank you for helping us take care of one of the most important needs of our participants: hydration and safety.
Our sincere gratitude to our Gold Sponsors: Eternal Gardens • Eternal Chapels • Eternal Crematory; Emmy’s Place Private Resort; CMA Studio Architects + Builders • Lux & Fixtures; LYRR Deca Homes; Multisports Event Team (MET); PMAQ Ville Resort; TENKI; The Recovery Room – BATC; and Yashano Mall Naga • Lotus Blu Hotel.
To our Silver Sponsors: Bioderm Intense Coolness • International Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (IPI); Casino Active Ethyl Alcohol • Omega Spray • International Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (IPI); Etifranz Health and Wellness Spa & Salon; El Sancho Hotel; MOS 360 Video Booth; Papa Tantan Apartelle; Flip Sole Naga – Robinsons Naga; and Surf2Sawa by Converge.
And to our Bronze Sponsors: Hypertech Computers, Blue Skyline Enterprise, Epson, Speed Detergent, Sundaze Hotel, City Kahel Memories and Stadtlaufer.
Thank you for putting your trust behind this event. Somewhere on the course, your support became something a runner or volunteer actually experienced.
SM City Naga, we truly cannot thank you enough for your generosity and for giving our runners such a beautiful and comfortable Race Kit Claiming experience.
From the well-prepared booth, LED display, comfortable seating, and even the chairs thoughtfully provided for runners while waiting in line, every detail made our race kit claiming feel organized, welcoming and special.
To our Official Media Partner, Naga City Deck, thank you for helping tell the story of the marathon beyond the race village, together with all the photographers, videographers and content creators who preserved moments we can now keep for years.
To our event supplier partners, Jaydick’s P**o Shop, RaceYaya and Niedro Gear, thank you for working with us through deadlines, requests and all the last-minute realities of race preparation.
Our deepest respect and gratitude go to the Naga City Police Office, FMAG Rescue Philippines – CamSur Chapter, KABALIKAT CIVICOM R5 and ADNU College Red Cross.
While runners were thinking about pace, distance and medals, you were thinking about whether everyone would return safely.
To the police officers, responders, first-aiders, mobile teams and communications personnel who watched over our runners for hours: thank you.
To our community and volunteer partners — Bombon Parish Youth Ministry, Cofradia de San Jose and Naga College Foundation — thank you to your students, youth, church and community volunteers who freely gave their time and sleep to serve people they may never have met before.
And to our hydration partners DTRT, MRC and Puyat Runners, thank you for being runners serving runners.
You knew what kilometer 20, 30 or 40 could feel like. That morning, instead of chasing your own finish lines, you stood on the other side of the table and helped somebody else reach theirs.
There were also many people whose names may never appear on a sponsor board: race officials, pacers, route marshals, hydration and nutrition volunteers, medical personnel, police and traffic enforcers, barangay tanods, radio teams, motorcycle marshals, photographers, registration and baggage personnel, timing teams, production crews, performers, drivers, setup and cleanup teams, sanitation workers, suppliers, concessionaires, and the people who lent vehicles or equipment, prepared food, brought water, ice or coffee, or simply showed up when help was needed.
There were too many acts of kindness that night and morning for one post to contain every name.
If you carried one box, filled one cup, guarded one intersection, answered one call, helped one runner or gave even one hour of your time:
your name may not appear here, but your contribution was there.
And there were moments behind the scenes that reminded us how quickly months of planning can suddenly come down to just a few hours.
Before the 42K gun start, we discovered that the available electrical supply was not enough to power the requirements of the entire race village.
While runners were already arriving and the race village was coming alive, calls were being made quietly in the background. We had only a few hours to find and rent a large-capacity generator.
It was one of those problems most participants would never know happened.
Thankfully, a solution came together in time.
By God’s grace and through Ina’s guidance, the power problem was resolved, and at exactly 12:00 midnight, our 42K race started as scheduled.
And there was another thing no organizing committee could ever fully control: the weather.
After all the forecasts, uncertainty and prayers leading into race weekend, we were blessed with very good weather throughout the race.
For that, there is really only one thing we can say:
Thank You, Lord. Thank you, Ina.
Of course, dae man naging perfect.
Despite months of preparation, there were still shortcomings and things we could have done better.
To anyone we inconvenienced or disappointed, we are sorry. We will listen, assess, learn and improve.
But when we look back at September 6, perhaps this is what we will remember most.
Naga before midnight.
42K runners waiting.
Prayer.
Headlamps.
Only a few hours earlier, people had been racing against time to solve a power problem.
And then the countdown came.
At midnight, the race started.
Volunteers waited farther down the road.
The 21K runners gathered before dawn.
Another prayer.
Police and marshals stood at intersections.
Churches and communities waited along the route.
Then came the 10K and 5K runners.
Music. Warm-up. Thousands of footsteps.
And slowly, the darkness gave way to morning.
Then the marathoners started coming home.
Medals.
Hugs.
Families waiting.
And somewhere nearby, a volunteer who had been standing for hours finally getting the chance to sit down.
For several hours, the Church, City Government, barangays, sponsors, running communities, police, rescuers, volunteers, families, spectators and thousands of runners became part of the same story.
And at the center of that story was Ina.
And now, after thanking all the people who stood beside this marathon, there is one group we want to speak to last. Our Caceres Runners Club family.
To every CRC member, our officers, organizing committee, committee heads, race directors, route coordinators, marshals, hydration and aid-station personnel, logistics and race village teams, registration and race kit teams, program and production personnel, communications, creatives, documentation and signage teams, and everyone who transported materials, lent vehicles, answered calls and worked through the night: salamat.
Some of the hardest work you did was work nobody saw.
And perhaps the generator problem says something about what happened so many times throughout the preparation.
There would suddenly be a problem.
Someone would send a message.
“May problema kita.”
And somehow, someone would answer:
“Ako na bahala.”
Someone knew somebody. Someone made a call. Someone drove somewhere. Someone found a vehicle. Someone volunteered. Someone solved one part while another person solved the next.
And somehow, we kept moving.
That quiet willingness to help, without needing recognition and often without anyone even knowing what you had done, carried this marathon more than most people will ever realize.
To our CRC officers, members, advisers, longtime supporters and friends of CRC, thank you for continuing to stand with this club.
And to the spouses, partners, children, parents and families of our members and volunteers, thank you too.
Part of the time we gave to this marathon was time you allowed us to give.
The meetings, late nights, early mornings, unanswered messages and tired person who eventually came home — you shared those sacrifices with us.
Dios mabalos.
Years from now, finishing times may be forgotten.
Race shirts will fade.
Medals may eventually sit inside cabinets.
Even this Facebook post will disappear beneath newer ones.
But perhaps we will still remember the prayer before the start.
The sea of headlamps.
The stranger handing us water.
Someone cheering from the roadside.
The first light of morning.
The finish line.
And the person waiting there.
There were things we could plan.
There were things we could fix.
There were things we could work on until morning.
And there were things that were never completely in our hands.
So after everything — the months of preparation, the problems solved at the last minute, the good weather we were blessed with, and thousands of runners returning safely to the finish line — we can only be grateful.
Thank You, Lord. Thank you, Ina.
And to every runner who trusted us enough to take that first step:
you gave all of us a reason to be there.
Pagod kita.
Sobra.
Pero sulit.
Sa gabos na nagtiwala, nagtabang, nagserbi, nagdalagan, nag-cheer asin nagpangadyi kaiba mi —
Dios mabalos saindo gabos.
This was never only just a marathon.
This was ours.
This was for Ina.
Viva la Virgen!
~ Pres Charles
