This applies only to US-based carriers...not sure of the rules for non-US carriers when it comes to status.
IMHO, mileage runs are good ONLY in premium cabins for LONG trips AND ONLY on partners, where the EQDs are calculated on distance flown vs. $$ paid. Long means US to SE Asia and such. A single trip halfway around the world can net you elite status if you use a partner as opposed to US metal.
A couple months ago, we flew JFK-CAN-SIN in CZ J ($2k ticket) and netted almost enough EQMs for silver elite and somewhere around $4500 EQDs. Last year flew J IAH - DOH - SIN on a cheap $1700 fare on Qatar and that alone netted me enough miles for Silver on AA (went away because never fly AA), but almost $4500 EQDs because of distance and fare class. Each of the past two years we spent between $1700 and $2k on the flights, but due to the distance, netted over $4500 EQDs. If you do a lot of domestic travel and fall short on EQDs because you are on cheap fares, the runs are good as they net a bunch of EQDs.