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.