Well, the Runner that faced Thanos had the Space Gem, but still I think the outcome would have been identical -- he didn't need the Space Gem to be so much faster than Thanos that he couldn't see him.
This would especially mess with Gladiator because part of the Runner's abilities are psionic in nature -- Surfer couldn't go all out against him because there was some psionic component of the character that was engendering affection from the Surfer, even as the Runner was beating him to death.