I think the running one might be one of my better drawings.
I liked that… when I got a place on friday night that looked plausable. I put it away and On saturday darkened it much more.
Definitely improved it.
…
I’ve noticed how some of you spend so much time on final steps making subtle improvements… and I think I’m getting the vague idea how to start doing that.
I really like these drawings! They immediately register they way you intend. I agree that it was a good call to darken the values—I can see where you went pretty dark and those areas look nice.
I like with the runner, you need a bit more contrast between her body and the background. Either by darkening the background or darkening her figure. You could also just add more detail to her body as a way of making her stand out more. That being said, I think both of these are really successful, complete compositions.