Running Man

The Running Man is a character in A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time.

A Link to the Past
The Running Man is an otherwise unnamed man wearing a distinctive red hat and a red jacket standing very close to the old woman with a broom in Kakariko Village. He takes off whenever Link gets too close to him due to believing him to be the villain who kidnapped Princess Zelda. He is incredibly fast, and cannot be caught to spoken to at this time. Later on when Link acquires the Pegasus Boots, he can chase down the Running Man to catch up him. The Running Man says he doesn't look like a villain, and advises Link to dash into objects, such as trees in the village as he could find various objects hidden in them. He will continue in his cowardly behavior and will always run from Link however. Later in the game, the man cannot be found in Kakariko Village again and does not return until the ending sequence.

Ocarina of Time
The Running Man in Ocarina of Time runs around Hyrule Field when Link is young after Link has obtained all three Spiritual Stones. He has an obsession with rabbits, and speaks about how Hyrule Field used to be filled with them. The Bunny Hood may be sold to him; he even believes the long ears will help him hear the voices of the gods. He will pay an incredible sum of money to obtain the mask. Interestingly, the exact amount he pays Link for the Bunny Hood is not set; he will simply give Link as many Rupees as it takes to fill his current wallet, so it is recommended that Link obtains the Giant's Wallet before doing this. Once he has the Bunny Hood, the Running Man will gain an incredible burst of speed, akin to Link using the Pegasus Boots in A Link to the Past.

As an adult, Link can meet him inside the carpenters tent in Gerudo Valley. He'll mention that he wanted to try to run through Haunted Wasteland; however, he had second thoughts for undisclosed reasons. To make matters worse, the Gerudos tore down the bridge before he could escape, trapping him. When the carpenters fix the bridge, he will challenge Link to a race from the tent to the bridge outside the Kokiri Forest. No matter how fast Link is, he will always win by a mere second, although Link's fastest time will be recorded in Link's House in Kokiri Forest. Not even with the use of a cheat device is it possible for Link to beat him.

Myths
Many myths surround the race against the Running Man in the Ocarina of Time. Theories say that Link may beat him if he uses certain items, beats a certain time, or does certain things. There are also various myths about what happens if the man is beaten, usually involving strange items. These are not true. Despite the fact that he cannot be beaten in Ocarina of Time, you can run faster than him in A Link to the Past using the Pegasus Boots.

Trivia

 * The Running Man's obsession with rabbits and how they can hear the voices of the gods in Ocarina of Time may be a reference to Link's rabbit form in the Dark World of A Link to the Past.
 * Unlike Link, the Running Man wears the Bunny Hood over his eyes like an actual mask.
 * The Running Man is the Hyrulean counterpart of the Terminan postman from Majora's Mask.
 * In Super Mario Sunshine, Mario had to race a masked man named Il Piantissimo. Under his mask is the face of the Running Man, except darker-skinned.