The difference isn't all that great; Silver gets you Skyteam Elite, while Gold gets you Skyteam Elite Plus. That means lounge access. The only other differences are incremental (75% vs 50% bonus miles; higher discounts on seating charges, etc).

Before segment running for Gold, I would encourage you to check again the differences between Silver and Gold - lounge access is the only real difference.

http://www.flyingblue.com/about-flyi...s/scheme1.html

For many years, I took extra trips, moved as much flying as possible to Skyteam, or routed via CDG rather than going direct to/from AMS (in order to stretch an otherwise 2-segment trip into a 3- or 4-segement trip) to grind out the required 30 segments each year to maintain Gold. I no longer do this, and no longer even bother to qualify for Silver.