Upcoming Washington D.C. Read & Run on the Road Events Give Insight Into the City’s History and People
By Allison Yates
Chelsey Stone has taken full advantage of Washington D.C. since relocating to the area over a year ago. “I absolutely love D.C.,” she says. “It has everything I could possibly want: countless literary events, free museums, tons of run clubs, and it’s steeped in history.” She was one of Read & Run Chicago’s first guides, and after a brief stint living in—and hosting Read & Run on the Road events in—Southern California (spoiler: it wasn’t for her!), she happily found a new home on the East Coast.
And lucky for literature lovers and runners based in the capital, she’s created a series of fun, fascinating, and inspiring events with guided running routes inspired by books set in D.C.
Keep reading to learn more about what kind of D.C. stories Chelsey is devouring, why she loves the city, and the best events for recent transplants.
Read & Run on the Road organizer Chelsey Stone in Adams Morgan with a JoAnn Hill’s D.C. Scavenger.
1. Tell us about your life in D.C. since relocating from Southern California.
I absolutely love D.C. It has everything I could possibly want: countless literary events, free museums, tons of run clubs, and it’s steeped in history.
On the weekends, Patrick (my husband) and I pick one of the many free museums we have yet to visit. We usually take the Metro in, take our time through an exhibit or two, and then walk back home to Arlington, Virginia (between 4 and 5 miles). It never ceases to amaze me how incredible it is that within a few short Metro stops we can be at the National Archives, looking the Declaration of Independence, or the National Museum of American History, looking at the flag that inspired the Star-Spangled Banner.
There’s a book Washington Sculpture that describes many of the monuments, sculptures, and building facades in D.C. The book is for library use only at the West End Neighborhood branch, so each time I visit, I take it to a table and flip to a sculpture I recently saw. Each has a passage that tells you how the monument came to be, about the sculptor, the meaning behind each of the sculptor’s choices. One passage ended with a quote from a letter found in the archives of the National Air and Space Museum. It was from someone who took a specific route each day just to catch a glimpse of Delta Solar. They loved how different weather or times of year changed what you would see, and they thanked the museum for it. I’ve seen Delta Solar plenty of times but didn’t appreciate it anywhere near as much as this person did.
It’s easy to grow accustomed to these sculptures throughout the city, to let them blend into the background, so it’s wonderful when you can learn to appreciate them anew.
Of course there’s so much more to D.C. than its museums and monuments. I rely on the run clubs or literary events to meet the people who bring this city to life.
Read & Run on the Road events are independently-organized events.
2. Tell us about the Read & Run on the Road events you’ll be hosting in Washington D.C. in 2025.
Well first, JoAnn Hill was so wonderful to work with last fall, so I knew I wanted to repeat and expand the runs I did with her. I love the scavenger hunt idea. Patrick and I brought the book to the Adams Morgan neighborhood and got delightfully lost as we followed the clues.
Otherwise, I always get excited when a book has me follow its characters down specific streets and pass recognizable landmarks; my mind immediately starts creating a Read & Run route. So each of these books has direct ties to recognizable places in D.C. Then, the story needs to reveal something about the city and its people that I wouldn’t get on my own, whether that’s a story set in 1970s Anacostia, one based on a collection of columns that ran in the Falls Church News-Press, or one that has you following a couple where one spouse is anxious about the other’s political ambitions.
Upcoming Read & Run on the Road Events
3. What can readers & runners expect to learn. Is there any theme or concept they’ll encounter over and over again?
Now that you ask, I wish there was! But when I squint my eyes, I see a collection of stories that will teach participants about some specific element of D.C.—whether it’s food scene or capturing a moment of time in particular neighborhoods. These stories give insight into how folks have lived and worked in the city throughout its history and will frequently cause reactions of, Hey! I’ve been there. (Or, Hey! I want to see that for myself.) And of course, you’ll become curious to learn what others make of these stories and want to discuss what you got from the story.
[Related: Best Bookstores to Visit in Washington D.C. in 2025]
4. If there were recent transplants to D.C. and they were only going to pick two or three to do this year, which would you encourage them to join?
My Read & Run on the Road Book Club Run of The Hopefuls (coming in September) would be a great one for recent transplants. It’s about a young married couple that moves from NYC to D.C. because it’s the husband’s lifelong dream to run for office. The narrator (the wife) was reluctant to move and has a lot of complaints about D.C. in the beginning. Though I’m loving it here, I thought of my reluctance to move from Chicago to San Diego. I had a hard time adjusting and really missed Chicago, so it felt good to read a book about someone who does nothing but complain about her new city because that’s all I wanted to do in San Diego. The circumstances behind a big move play a huge role and can make us excited to get involved in the community or feel like an outsider. I wanted this run to be an opportunity for the reluctant among us to air out their grievances, laugh at the follies of D.C.—it doesn’t have to be all rainbows and sunshine. But of course, this won’t be a run dedicated to bashing D.C.! There’s much more to the book than that (including a stint in Texas). I’m hoping readers who feel alone in their uncertainty toward their new home won’t feel so alone after this run!
Then I think any of the scavenger hunt runs. Pick one that’s in your neighborhood to challenge yourself, see if you know the area well enough to stay on course, and then pick one that’s nowhere near your usual haunts so you can discover it with new friends.
5. What's next on your list to read about D.C., and what future events are you dreaming about?
I’ve been loving Reveille in Washington; it’s about the Civil War and how much it changed D.C. James McPherson says in the introduction, “Despite the three-dimensional richness of the human beings who march through these pages, the main protagonist is Washington itself. The city is the vantage point from which all the awesome events of the war are viewed…The book not only recounts the Civil War as it was shaped in Washington and seen from Washington, but it also breathes life into the city and makes it an animate, sentient being, not merely a place. …this is the story of the transformation of Washington during the most crucial four years of its history.” Doesn’t that sound absolutely fascinating?
There are a couple of books about the trees of or are field guides to D.C., so next spring I’d love to explore some of the city’s natural areas. You know me, I love seeking out nature in our urban environment. Speaking of, in March a book came out about the Potomac River. I immediately reached out to the author to say, I obviously haven’t read your book yet (this was before it was released), but here’s what Read & Run is, I lead these pop-up events in D.C., I think your book has the potential to make a great event, and the author loved the idea. So keep an eye out for events that celebrate D.C.’s natural environment.
There’s also a book entirely about 16th Street, and I love the idea of running up and down both sides of one street that has so much history.
I could go on and on—and on and on and on—but I’ll stop there. Needless to say, I couldn’t be more excited to Read & Run my way through D.C. with others!