Re: "Runs", a game or a sport?

"Elsa T. S. Vieira" wrote
| This paragraph refers to sports played in a british school in the
| beggining of the 20th century, in the twenties, more precisely.
| The author mentions rugger and cricket, and then says that he
| enjoyed "runs" because it allowed him to be alone in the solitude
| of the countryside.
| I'm guessing something like a race, maybe?

This would be a cross-country run i.e. a long (several miles) run along
country lanes, across fields, etc.

Apart from the fastest few, it would not normally be considered a race, just
a torture to be endured and completed.

Owain