Read & Run Chicago

Had to capture the heavy breathing. That branch is about to close! 👀

Chicago summer sights and sounds ☀️

What part of Chicago summer are you loving right now? Tell us in the comments! 👇

📣 Tickets for our July 12 event with Tonika Lewis Johnson are LIVE!

This summer, our signature events—the book-themed guided run format we created—take us to the South and (North)West Sides, exploring photography, community, and the people who make an impact.

Next up 👉 we’re headed to Englewood!

Join us and photographer, social justice artist, and 2025 MacArthur Fellow on Sunday, July 12 for a three-mile biking or running tour inspired by Don’t Go: Stories of Segregation and How to Disrupt It by Tonika Lewis Johnson and Maria Krysan.

Tonika’s participatory art projects illuminate how systemic disinvestment and segregation shape and impact our lives and neighborhoods while empowering residents to confront and disrupt these inequities.

Throughout the running or biking tour, you’ll experience Englewood through Tonika’s lens, exploring the spaces that shaped her activism and work like the award-winning Folded Map Project, UnBlocked Englewood, and the book, Don’t Go.

After the tour, enjoy light bites from .

🚫📚 No pre-reading required! Books will be available to purchase at the event with our bookstore partner, .

🚲 Not running? Bike with . Choose “biking tour” option at checkout.

Link in bio.

See you there!

Have you ever tried Atomic Cake?? 🎂

Read & Run Chicago members took a special field trip to in Garfield Ridge last month inspired by Historic Chicago Bakeries by .

We tried Atomic Cake, a South Side creation with over-the-top layers of two kinds of cake, bananas, cream, strawberries, and chocolate.

Have you tried this cake, and if so, where’s your favorite place to get it? 👇Tell us in the comments!

Ps—Want to go on a cool field trips across the city? Become an All-Access Member for free, guaranteed entry to all of our signature events plus other perks like this!

WE ARE SO INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL! 🥹

Thank you SO MUCH to every one of the 161 donors and 15 small businesses who helped us raise $13,623.96 in our first-ever spring campaign.

Every dollar will go towards helping us sustain and expand programming that gets Chicagoans moving and celebrating our city’s stories. ✨

Thank you for supporting local bookstores 📚
Thank you for supporting small businesses ☕
Thank you for exploring new neighborhoods 🗺️
Thank you for believing in community and helping us grow 🌱

We’re a community organization supported by sponsorships and contributions, so we’re going to keep fundraising to reach our goal $25,000 goal.

If you haven’t donated yet, now’s your time! Link in bio.

And in the meantime, we can’t wait to see you out on the next route! 👟