Our Story
We are the first and only running events organization with routes built by stories!
Read & Run Chicago is the first chapter of Read & Run Tours. Running Tours, Book Club Runs, and other events are inspired by books set in Chicago, written by local authors. We use movement and stories to explore the city.
All bodies, paces, and walks of life are welcome. Read & Run Chicago has been featured in various media outlets including NBC, Fox32, Runner's World, WGN Radio, Block Club Chicago, Time Out Chicago, and more.
About the Founder
Allison Yates is a reader, runner, freelance writer, former English teacher, and former study abroad director from Indianapolis who lived, worked, or studied in Argentina, Spain, and Australia before settling in Chicago. When she’s not reading and running, she enjoys journaling, spending time outdoors, jumping into Lake Michigan, engaging in small talk with strangers, and eating delicious things.
After three years living in Chicago, Allison still struggled to feel a sense of belonging in the city. Reflecting on where she had felt a connection in the past, she realized it was always where she’d learned the stories of the place and its people (typically through books) and spent time exploring (whether running, walking, or biking). Then, after being fascinated by the story of The Battle of Lincoln Park, she set off with her cousin in the famed Chicago neighborhood–book in hand and sneakers on her feet–to trace the book’s story of the area’s 20th century transformation. It was then that the idea for Read & Run Chicago was born.
For Allison, Read & Run Chicago has been, among many wonderful things, an opportunity to learn about each other, validate lived experiences, acknowledge difficult history, and center the stories of everyday Chicagoans–all while creating a welcoming and wholesome community she so wished existed when she moved to Chicago.
Today, Read & Run Chicago is managed under the parent organization, Read & Run Tours, which manages city chapters and Read & Run on the Road, a program of independently-organized pop-up events.
