Dictionary
run'ning start'
1. Sports.a start, as in the hop, step, and jump or the running broad jump, in which a contestant begins moving before reaching the starting or take-off point.
2. an initial advantage in undertaking something; a head start:
His background gave him a running start in business. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.