Our Story
Read & Run Tours was formally established in 2023 by Allison Yates, but the foundation began in 2021 with her community organization Read & Run Chicago.
It was under the name Read & Run Chicago that Allison developed Read & Run Tours’s one-of-a-kind book-themed running tour, a program that blends fitness, literature, and experiential learning right where a story takes place.
We’re still the home of the book-themed guided running tour (in Chicago and nationwide), but we’ve now expanded into a creative marketing agency and event planning service using the lessons gleaned from years of hosting high-impact community events in Chicago.
Our mission
The mission of Read & Run Tours is to produce high-quality, creative marketing and meaningful events that are effective and build community – whether it’s through Read & Run Chicago, our program of independently organized pop-up events, Read & Run on the Road, or through our creative marketing or event services.
In the age of loneliness, we don’t have a shortage of ways to connect with others and build community. We have a shortage of doing it right.
More than anything, Read & Run Tours’s philosophy is based on the idea that humans thrive on genuine connection – not perfectly executed, expensive and inauthentic attempts at building “community.”
About the founder
Hi, I’m Allison! I live in Chicago and am a community builder, freelance writer, traveler, runner, reader, former educator and former study abroad director.
For years, my signoff was “have a meaningful and entertaining day!” I’m still obsessed with all things meaningful and entertaining – except now, it relates to events and quality audience interactions.
After graduating from Indiana University with a degree focused on human rights in Latin America, I lived and worked in Spain and Australia and traveled to nearly 50 countries in Europe, Southeast Asia, Oceania and Latin America. I worked as everything from a driving instructor to a uranium mine cleaner and believe these diverse experiences set the foundation for my love of connection and desire to help others find ways to engage with new audiences.
After eventually moving to Chicago, I leaned on my love of experiential learning and desire for connection to build a community organization for Chicagoans who love running and books. Read & Run Tours’ chapter Read & Run Chicago has hosted more than 120 book-themed events with guided running tours where the stories take place, featuring dozens of authors.
Now, I’ve taken all of the valuable lessons from both the experiences of my early 20s and years of event planning at Read & Run Chicago and packaged them into Read & Run Tours’s services ranging from strategic planning, coaching, and event promotion to full-scale creative event development and management.
I’ve been to events where the author seemed more focused on presenting than on connecting with the people who came (booo!). I’ve been to major brand-sponsored marathon shakeout runs that were total execution failures (cringe!). And I’ve been to countless events that had more missed opportunities for relationship building than rats on the streets of Chicago (is that even possible?).
I’m determined to change that.
We’re not lacking events. We’re lacking events that make a difference.
We’re not lacking marketing opportunities. We’re lacking creative marketing that builds community.
I can’t wait to help you connect with your future superfans in a meaningful and entertaining way.
About Read & Run chicago
Read & Run Chicago is a community organization managed under Read & Run Tours. Founded in 2021, the mission is simple: to use movement and stories to explore Chicago. Programming includes free community meetups like book swaps and reading nights, plus book-themed guided runs where stories take place — inspired by books set in Chicago, mostly written by local authors — all with the ultimate goal of helping Chicagoans better connect with themselves, each other, and the physical spaces they call home. Along the way, Read & Run Chicago has championed literacy initiatives, public libraries, independent bookstores, and the writers who bring Chicago’s communities to life. They’ve hosted more than 120 events featuring 30+ authors and local experts and have been highlighted by CNN, Runner’s World, Midwest Living, NBC’s Chicago Today, FOX32 Good Day Chicago, WGN Radio, Block Club Chicago, and more.