But Helen if "he is running" isn't running a gerund? It doesn't say anything about whether he was running yesterday, will run tomorrow or what is chasing him

The "running" in "he is running" is a present participle. It's an adjective, and not a verbal noun, which is technically what a gerund is. In "the running of this campaign has been flawed from day one" "running" is a gerund. You cannot say: "he is the running", can you?

Ceci n'est pas un seing.