Behind bars, but not forgotten: Incarcerated women at Mabel Bassett run 5K to honor OKC bombing victims

Runners are in their final week of training for the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, including those behind bars. This year, prisoners at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center in McCloud will hold their own 5K to honor the Alfred P. Murrah federal building bombing victims and first responders.

The 5K training is part of the Prison Health Initiative or Phi, a program started by incarcerated women at Mabel Bassett. While they cannot take part in the actual marathon this weekend, they will run or walk on prison grounds to remember.

Behind the tall fences and barbed wire, the prison warden gave encouraging high-fives to inmates on Monday as they made their laps around the yard.

“You can either walk or run,” said Jared McCord, MBCC Activities Director. “We have ladies in wheelchairs; they want to be part of it.”

Phi is for all ages and physical abilities. Five days a week, the women in the program take part in either rigorous physical training or creating overall healthy habits.

“Been our surviving mechanism,” said Megan Hammers, MBCC inmate. “Healing, strengthening.”

This year, the women are remembering April 19th, 1995, by taking part in their own "Run to Remember."

“We’re all gonna gather with the women on the yard on Sunday in unison with the memorial runners,” said Hammers.

The Mabel Bassett 5K runners or walkers will complete 12 laps around the yard.

“We did the same thing for a domestic violence run, biggest in the nation in a prison,” said McCord. “This one we think is going to be even bigger because this one affects Oklahoma.”

The women said the 5K is not a competition, they are not even recording their run times. The event is to let the outside world know they care.

“It’s a special feeling when you see the ladies out here that just want to say ‘Thank you’ to Oklahoma,” said McCord.

The local non-profit organization TEEM will be providing all the 5K participants with t-shirts commemorating the day.