By Anne Steele, News Staff

Seven Northeastern students joined more than 2,000 runners at Fenway Park early Sunday morning to cross home plate and score a major run for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The second annual Run to Home Base 9K raised an estimated $2.6 million for the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program, which offers clinical care and support services to veterans as well as counseling to family members, community education about the “invisible wounds of war” and research to seek effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD.)

“It’s great to see such a powerful organization in Boston providing for this good cause,” Nic Pszenny, organizer of the Huskies for Heroes team and junior computer engineering and technology major, said.

The race began and ended at Fenway with a timed finish in front of the Green Monster and a photo finish across home plate.

“We all came here today to celebrate the courage and commitment of our service men and women and their families. They sacrifice so much for our country and now it is our turn to show our appreciation,” Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner said during the opening ceremony.

Runners and supporters received pre-race encouragement from U.S. Senator Scott Brown; Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army General Peter W. Chiarelli; Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense Lt. Gen. John Kelly; Massachusetts General Hospital President Dr. Peter Slavin; and New Balance President and Chief Executive Rob DeMartini.

First lady Michelle Obama also thanked the Red Sox Nation for “stepping up to the plate when it counts” in a taped video from the White House.

“We know that when our troops are called to serve, their families serve, too,” she said. “So we’re calling on all Americans to ask themselves one simple question: How can I give back to these families that have given so much? And all across the country, we’re seeing people step up to answer that call.”

Sen. Brown, who also ran, said in a post-race interview that a strong support system for returning veterans was “badly needed.”

Peter Gleason, 33, of Millbury, Mass., who won the race for the second time this year, tried to keep a light-hearted spirit about the event.

“Most road races aren’t this fun, they don’t have this kind of backdrop. This is outstanding – the soldiers and all the stories, it’s great. I’ll keep coming as long as they keep having it.”

Dennis Amblo, a junior political science major, ran for his second year with the Massachusetts Iraq and Afghanistan Fallen Heroes Memorial team.

“It’s important for myself and the rest of us who are veterans who may be injured and have injuries ourselves, but not as bad as some of the other guys who can’t walk, so it’s what we can do to give back to them,” he said.

Amblo, who served in the Army for four and a half years and was deployed twice, is now part of the Student Veterans Organization (SVO), the Northeastern chapter of the Student Veterans of America. The group was created last year to help support and unite the military veterans who attend the university.

“It’s difficult for a lot of us to relate to the normal student body and it’s a good way for us to integrate ourselves back into college with guys like-minded of ourselves,” Amblo said.

The Massachusetts Fallen Heroes group, who had representatives present for the race, has worked to raise money to build a permanent memorial in the state for the men and women killed in the war. The team brought an interactive kiosk to Fenway where people could type in a name to view photos and short biographies of those who lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. The booth was present for a guest appearance before being unveiled at the State House tomorrow.

“It’s for the families and friends of the men and women killed,” Amblo said. “That’s what’s most important.”

Pszenny, who is also an SVO member, said the Huskies for Heroes team included six Northeastern students: four physical runners and two “virtual” runners who helped raise funds. The team raised $5,050 through two fundraisers at the Lansdowne Pub by Fenway, one fundraiser in Pszenny’s hometown and a number of private donations.

Pszenny, who served in the Marine Corps for five years and was also deployed, said he ran in honor of a lot of his friends overseas.

“It’s very important to take care of these guys after they make these sacrifices,” he said.

Lauren Kreitman, a junior health sciences major who also ran last year, agreed. “They don’t give enough to our service members so I think it’s really great that they do this for them,” she said.

Other Husky runners included Brianna McIntosh, junior criminal justice major, and Caitlin Kreitman, who just graduated with a Master’s in public health.

While this was the first major event for SVO, Andy McCarty, staff advisor, said the group is making specific efforts to get more veterans involved and to start becoming more active around campus, and with other groups and charities like the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes.

He said Northeastern estimates there are about 300 veterans on campus and the administration wants to make sure they are provided with any extra support they may need to make themselves successful students and to make the transition from military life

to academia.

McCarty said the group has about 30 active members who attend the monthly meetings and that they are looking to hear from more people.

“One of the main goals of the group is to find out what pitfalls we run into … to smooth the transition so that the veterans that come after us can make that transition a lot easier,” he said.

McCarty added that he’s been impressed with the Northeastern administration and the devotion the school has to its veterans.

“It was their [the university’s] idea to form this group. They participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program, which makes it possible for a lot of veterans to actually go to Northeastern at little to no cost, which is huge,” he said. “It speaks a lot for the importance they place on the veteran community on campus.”

Rallying support for veterans was rewarding – but crossing home plate wasn’t so bad either.

“It was great – it was a dream come true,” Pszenny said.