Very interesting. I've often wondered what the effect of such an event would be on a non-runner but it's never happened to me and I've not seen it reported in the forums before. Several times I've had the event happen to a villager who already was a runner, and he/she just had "running, running" as part of the likes, with no other difference.
I do wish that non-runners would speed up to a walk when the time came for running; getting away from an unwanted suitor or seeking shelter from the rain, for instance.
Sounds like you've had a lot of runners! I think I've had only one in VV3 and have played quite a few different villages all the way through -- with 100 people each in a couple of villlages. What's your secret to getting runners???? And to getting that event? And the combination of event with a runner several times? Wow, I'm impressed! What am I doing wrong???
And, I've always thought that non-runners should at least walk normally! They dislike running, so what's with the walking so slowly?? Maybe they should be renamed for what they really are: Likes: Being a slowpoke!! Dislikes: Ever moving faster than a (slow) snail. (Personally, I dislike running too, but I walk faster than anyone I know!)