Husky Run Raises Funds for Veterans in Storrs

Hundreds ran and rucked in Storrs on Sunday to support UConn's Veterans Support Fund and a scholarship honoring a fallen Navy SEAL.

Updated on Nov. 8, 2026 in Running

Hundreds ran and rucked in Storrs on Sunday in UConn's annual Husky Run and Ruck, raising money for the Veterans Support Fund and a scholarship honoring a fallen Navy SEAL. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Hundreds participated in the annual Husky Run and Ruck Salute to Service in Storrs, Connecticut. Twin 13-year-old girls set new course records in the 5K and 10K events.

Why it matters

The event raises money for UConn's Veterans Support Fund and the Kyle Milliken Scholarship, which supports veterans and military-connected students facing financial hardship. It honors the men and women who have served the country.

Natalie Rader, 13, of Natick, MA, finished the 5K in 18:28, breaking the previous course record of 19:40. Her twin sister Addalie finished the 10K in 39:42, beating the previous female record of 42:27.

The players

Kyle Milliken

Kyle Milliken was a Navy SEAL and UConn alumnus who was killed in action in 2017, and the event's original name and scholarship honor his memory.

Alyssa Kelleher

Alyssa Kelleher is a UConn administrator whose office manages the Veterans Support Fund and who helped launch the event nine years ago.

University of Connecticut (UConn)

The University of Connecticut is a public research university in Storrs that hosts the event and administers its beneficiary funds.

The details

The event, originally called the Kyle Milliken Run, launched nine years ago and features a 10K, a 5K run, a ruck, and a walk. The hilly 10K course was Kyle Milliken's favorite run as a UConn track athlete, and proceeds benefit the Veterans Support Fund managed by Alyssa Kelleher's office and the scholarship awarded to two outstanding UConn track athletes.

2017: Kyle Milliken, a Navy SEAL and UConn alumnus, was killed in action.
Nine years before 2026: The event launched, initially named for Milliken.
November 8, 2026: The Husky Run and Ruck Salute to Service was held in Storrs.

Season Trajectory

The Husky Run continues a memorial fundraising tradition at UConn that began with the Kyle Milliken Scholarship after his 2017 death. The event's growth over nine years reflects how community road races in Connecticut increasingly pair athletics with veteran support.

Runners and fans can follow UConn track athletes who receive the Kyle Milliken Scholarship, and the course records set this year now stand as benchmarks for future 5K and 10K entrants in Storrs.

The takeaway

Community races can do more than raise a finish line time; this event shows how a single athletic fundraiser can sustain both veteran support and a scholarship in a fallen service member's name.