I played this so much back in middle school about 15 years ago that I actually figured out how to do it. My strat still isn’t exactly easy, but with a little practice you’ll be able to actually beat the game as I’ve done before, even getting past that nasty surprise at 50m. I just broke it out for the first time in years and it was almost like riding a bike, no joke. Within a few minutes, I was almost hitting 15m. The key is to more or less always control two keys together; you’ll probably only pull off finer single-key adjustments when you actually get a feel for the controls. Getting a feel for the timing and how much to push the buttons is also important. Some other tips are not to allow your knees to get too high, try gradually completing strides in short stuttery presses to prevent flipping backwards, and momentum is key.

To start, briefly tap W and O simultaneously. This is to get the character to put a foot out and lean over it, setting up the next stride.

Then, a slightly longer press of Q and P simultaneously. The runner will extend his other foot much like real runner.

After that, you’ll go back to W/O and begin cycling between that and Q/P. That’s pretty much all there is to it as far as the control scheme goes. That will at least have your runner looking a lot more coordinated than attempting to scoot across the ground or whatever.