在英语中，单词 run 常用作动词，主要意为“跑，跑步，管理，运转”等意思，是一个家喻户晓的单词，它既可以作及物动词，也可以作不及物动词；但是它也可以用作可数名词，主要意为“跑步，旅程”等意思。 作不及物动词时，run 意为“跑，奔跑，迅速移动”等意思，相当于 move fast on foot，例如： They turned and ran when they saw us coming.他们看见我们过来，转身就跑。The sledge ran smoothly over the frozen snow.雪橇在冰冻的雪面上平稳地滑行。作及物动词时，run 意为“跑（一段距离），经营，使…行驶”等意思，例如：I can run a mile in five minutes.我能在五分钟内跑一英里。He has no idea how to run a business.他丝毫不懂企业管理。They run extra trains during the rush hour.他们在车流高峰期加开了列车。
当 run 作名词时，是一个可数名词。短语 in/over the long run 中的 run 就是名词，它指的是在一个很长的赛跑比赛，类似于龟兔赛跑，意为”从长远来看“，相当于 over a long period of time 或 in the end，因此用来表示在未来较长的一段时间，例如：To make this project successful in the long run, they will need more partners.为了使这个项目长期成功，他们需要更多的合作伙伴。The retailer is not going to reduce the price of the new products but it will pay off in the long run.零售商不会降低新产品的价格，但从长远来看会有盈利的。It seems a lot of effort but I'm sure it's the best solution in the long run.这似乎是一个很大的努力，但我相信从长远来看，这是最好的解决办法。While the company was initially criticized for their new marketing strategy, it seems to have paid off for them in the long run.虽然该公司最初因其新的营销策略而受到批评，但从长远来看，似乎已经收到了回报。与之类似的是另外一个短语是 in the long term，其中的 term 也是可数名词，意为”期限“等，例如：This decision will cost us more in the short term, but will be beneficial in the long term.这个决定在短期内会使我们付出更多的代价，但从长远来看是有益的。It's an adequate solution in the short term, maybe even in the medium term, but it won't fix the problem in the long term.在短期内，甚至在中期内，这是一个适当的解决方案，但从长期来看，它不会解决问题。当把 long 替换成 short 或 medium 时，就可以形成与之对应的的其他短语，如 in the short run 或 in the medium term 等，例如：In the short run, unemployment may fall.从短期来看，失业率可能降低。In the short term, we can send the refugees food and clothing, but in the medium term we must do something about the underlying problems.在短期内，我们可以给难民送去食物和衣服，但在中期内，我们必须对根本的问题采取行动。Long run 还可以单独作名词短语，意为”长期、长远“等，相当于 long term，它们对应的形容词分别是 long-run 或 long-term，因此我们还可以展开其他形容词，常见的如 short-run 或 short-term，medium-term，词汇量是成倍地增长，例如：There are imbalances in our expansion that could bring the long run of strong growth and low inflation to a close.我们的扩张存在不平衡，这可能会结束长期的强劲增长和低通胀。Consumer confidence is well above its long-run average.消费者信心远高于长期平均水平。This sort of short-run planning is fine while the company is being set up, but you need to start setting some long-term goals and strategies.这种短期计划在公司成立时是可以的，但你需要开始制定一些长期目标和战略。
