Run is very improvable, but it's difficult to get a run going.

Best character to use for runs is Penny, because her special ability gives you a free shield power-up to use.

This game can be brutal to run. It's easy to get stuck in 3rd-6th place for the entire race and when that happens, you can lose up to half a minute. You need to get to 1st and make a breakaway quick, which isn't the easiest thing to do.

tl;dr - Use Penny for shield, get ahead of other races as early in the race as possible. Good luck. Oh! And hold A right when it says “GO” for a speed boost!