Register here
Date and time
Thursday, May 16 · 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. PST
Location
Start: Little Saigon San Diego (meet at corner of El Cajon Blvd and Highland Ave.) Google Map
End: Hoài Huế Restaurant (4660 El Cajon Blvd Suite 102) Google Map
Refund Policy
No refunds
Agenda
6:00-7:00 p.m. Run a route inspired by The Gangster We Are All Looking For that explores Little Saigon
7:00-8:00 p.m. Post-run discussion at Hoài Huế Restaurant (Please be prepared to cover your own meal costs.)
About this event
On this 3 mile, easy-paced book club run, we explore one of the real-life places where the author’s young narrator lived in The Gangster We Are All Looking For. The narrator immigrates from Vietnam to San Diego in 1978 at the age of six. In a story that oscillates between her memories of Vietnam and her new experiences in San Diego, we observe the world through the whimsical, elusive, and sometimes heart-breaking eyes of a child. The main event for this book club run was set in Linda Vista, but we thought it only right to visit San Diego’s Little Saigon and explore the cultural connection of this area.
During the route for this Read & Run on the Road event, created and led by Chelsey Stone, we’ll stop at one location corresponding to the story, 2-3 locations that explore Little Saigon, and finish for a post-run discussion Hoài Huế Restaurant (Please be prepared to cover your own meal costs.).
This is the bonus run for the book, so we hope you can join us for the book’s main run Saturday May 11 at 8:15 a.m.
TICKETS: This bonus run is $10 for those who do not join the main run and $5 for those who do.
We are requesting you pay via Venmo or Zelle, in an effort to eliminate fees to you and to us (Eventbrite charges $3.44 per ticket). If neither of these are an option for you, email us and we’ll work something out.
Venmo: @Chelsey-L-Stone (last four digits of phone number: 2729)
Zelle: chelseygrassfield@gmail.com
MEET: Meet at the corner of El Cajon Blvd and Highland Ave. (Google Map) between 5:45-6:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 16. The program will begin promptly at 6:00 p.m. You will check in with Chelsey Stone.
ROUTE: We’ll run an easy-paced (~11:00 minute/mile), 3-mile route with 3-4 stops in Little Saigon.
PREPARE: Unlike the main run Saturday May 11, it is not necessary to have read The Gangster We Are All Looking For prior to joining the run. Though we’ll reference the book, the focus of this run will be exploring Little Saigon. You can borrow a copy from your local branch of the San Diego Public Library (here’s how to get a card if you don’t have one) or purchase from a local bookstore.
Optional: Join us for an online discussion of the book on Italic Type as we read the story in preparation for the run.
POST-RUN: After the route, we’ll finish at the Hoài Huế Restaurant (4660 El Cajon Blvd Suite 102) 7:00-8:00 p.m. to discuss the book (Please be prepared to cover your own meal costs.).
INCLEMENT WEATHER PLAN: If weather creates unsafe conditions, we will hold the discussion at Hoài Huế Restaurant 6:00-7:00 p.m. We will inform you no later than Thursday, May 16 by 5:00 a.m. if an alternate event will take place.
All registered runners will receive reminder details two days prior to the event.
Chelsey Stone moved last summer to San Diego from Chicago, where she was a guide with Read & Run Chicago. Chelsey is an avid reader, she even blogs about it. She loved creating routes based on her favorite books set in Chicago. Fortunately for her, founder Allison Yates has expanded her business to include Read & Run Tours.
Chelsey’s CPR Certified and the Chicago and San Diego running tour manager for City Fit Tours, where she regularly creates routes and leads tours that connect people to our cities’ histories through their most iconic sites.
Read & Run on the Road is an independently organized event with a license from Read & Run Tours, LLC, the country’s first and only organization that hosts running events inspired by books. Founded in 2021 by queer educator, freelance writer, and runner Allison Yates, the mission of Read & Run Tours, LLC and the city chapters is to use movement and stories to explore locations. Our community-focused run programming includes running tours, book club runs, author talks, and other literary-themed fun runs all inspired by books set in the cities where chapters are located, written by local authors. While connecting runners to the city’s stories, we also actively support literacy programs, public libraries, independent bookstores, and local authors.
Questions, comments, or concerns? Email Chelsey Stone at chelseygrassfield@gmail.com
Chelsey Stone 