Nominate Us for the 2025 ‘Best of Chicago’ Awards
by Allison Yates
We’ve got exciting news (and a small ask)! We’re nearing the end of the year, so that means it’s time for The Chicago Reader’s annual Best of Chicago Awards. Nominations for this year’s categories just opened, and we’d love your help to make Read & Run Chicago a contender in Best Tour (City Life) and Best Running Club (Sports & Fitness).
Why do these awards matter? Because these nominations aren’t about ego—they’re about visibility. Getting Read & Run Chicago on this year’s ballot helps us reach new readers & runners, authors, and supporters who might not know that Chicago’s streets hold stories waiting to be run through. These supporters and future fans will help us continue to bring our love of stories and movement—and local businesses—to neighborhoods across the city.
Our Historic Chicago Bakeries Fun Runs are tours highlighting longstanding family-owned bakeries across the city inspired by Jennifer Billock’s book.
📝 How You Can Help (It’s Super Simple)
Go to the Voting Page: You can find it via the Chicago Reader’s Best of Chicago voting portal: Chicago Reader
Nominate “Read & Run Chicago” under:
Best Tour (City Life)
Best Running Club (Sports & Fitness)
(Optional but really helpful!)—Tell us in a comment or DM: What first brought you to Read & Run Chicago? We’d love to share your stories.
Share with your friends, book club, running communities, other Chicago organizations—folks who love what we do and might vote too. The more nominations, the stronger our chances for making it on the ballot this year!
Read & Run Chicago hosted local author Kara Eng for a tour of her novel in May 2025.
📣 What You’re Supporting
More community programming: When we get more attention, we can grow our events—and support more local authors, bookstores, and small businesses.
Greater collaboration: Potential partners (venues, sponsors, authors) often look at local recognition when choosing who to work with.
Increased awareness: There are so many Chicagoans we’d love to welcome into our community—and we’re always looking for ways to spread the word about what we do and why
Thank you for being part of this journey. If you love running through stories, supporting local authors, and connecting with the complexities of our beautiful and complicated city. Your nomination would mean the world to us! Let’s get Read & Run Chicago on that ballot—and maybe even to the winner’s list.