A runner carries a message that is too long or detailed for a signal between posts, the camp and patrols, and does it on concealed paths so the route is not itself a signal. A post 800 m from the camp is about 10 minutes away at a walk and 5 minutes at a jog, so alarms go by signal and detail by runner, and the runner must come from the camp or a pair, because a lone sentry who runs leaves the post empty.
Part of Watch and Patrol Scheduling
Runner systems inside a settlement are the standing arrangements for messengers between posts, patrols and the camp over distances of a few hundred metres to a few kilometres.
Signals For Alarms, Runners For Detail
The parent watch article puts runners for detailed messages on concealed paths. They are slow but carry anything. The longer-range version is described in Runner Systems for inter-settlement use; this article is about the shorter, inside-the-perimeter version, where the distance is hundreds of metres, and where the issue is leaving a post empty.
Worked Example: How Long Does A Message Take?
Walking at 5 km/h is 1.39 m/s (the recalled ordinary pace used elsewhere in this corpus). Jogging at 10 km/h is 2.78 m/s.
| Distance | Walk | Jog |
|---|---|---|
| 200 m | 200 / 1.39 = 144 s, 2.4 min | 200 / 2.78 = 72 s, 1.2 min |
| 500 m | 360 s, 6.0 min | 180 s, 3.0 min |
| 800 m | 576 s, 9.6 min | 288 s, 4.8 min |
| 1,500 m | 1,080 s, 18 min | 540 s, 9 min |
At the 10 to 15 km/h running pace given in Signal Systems and Communication, 800 m would be 192 to 288 s, but that is the pace of a fit runner in daylight; plan from the walk and the jog. A signal arrives in seconds; the runner follows in minutes. If a contact is moving, the runner’s report is minutes stale on arrival, which is why the signal comes first and the runner carries the detail.
What You Need
- A rota of runners at the camp, on call, rested and briefed.
- Concealed paths between posts and camp, walked in daylight and at night (Route Planning).
- A message form with from, to, time, and a verbal token (Authentication and Security).
- A light shielded and a whistle, for emergencies.
Method: Using Runners Inside The Perimeter
Step 1: Keep a runner at the camp, not at the post. Posts keep their sentries.
Step 2: Signal first, then send. The sentry signals the alarm or the request, and the camp sends a runner for the detail.
Step 3: Keep messages short. One sentence, plain words, the six questions for a contact: what, how many, where, which way, doing what, since when.
Step 4: Read back at delivery. The recipient repeats the message; the runner confirms.
Step 5: Use pairs when a patrol must send word. The parent sets 3 to 4 as ideal patrol strength. A patrol of 2 cannot send one back without leaving the other alone, which breaks the minimum-2 rule, so a 2-person patrol uses signals and a 3- or 4-person patrol can detach a runner.
Step 6: Log every message (Log Keeping).
Diagnosing Failures
- Message arrives wrong. No read-back; add it.
- Runner late. The route is longer than planned, or the runner was asleep; time it and place the rota closer to the camp.
- The runner’s route is itself a signal. A well-worn path from the post to the camp shows where the post is. Vary and conceal paths.
- Post left empty. A sentry ran the message; fix the rule.
Common Mistakes
- Runners as the alarm. Slow; use a signal.
- Running in the open. The runner is visible from outside.
- Running at night without a light plan. Falls cause injuries; use a known path.
Safety
Falls at night
A runner on rough ground in the dark can fall and lie injured with the message undelivered. Walk the paths in daylight first, mark hazards and use a walking pace at night.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Community Militia Training — the people who stand these watches
- Combine with: Communication Between Posts — the overall network