Trends/Gaps and breakouts

Runaway gap

A gap in the middle of an established move, in the direction of the move.

Gaps and breakoutsBest on 3M, 6M, 1YAlso called continuation gap, measuring gap

Illustration of the runaway gap shape. It is a sketch, not real price data.

What it shows

A runaway gap appears in the middle of a trend that is already under way, when price jumps further in the same direction with no overlap with the previous bar.

It is sometimes called a measuring gap, because old-school books say the move often covers about the same distance again. We do not make that claim.

How we find it

The same code that draws it on your chart follows these steps, with the same result every time.

Find a trend: price above its 50-bar average, rising for 20 bars.
Find a bar whose low is above yesterday's high.
Check the gap is at least 1% of price.
Mark the gap.

Starting values: Trend 20-bar rise; Gap size ≥ 1%. These are proposed and will be tuned on real price data before launch.

How to read it

The gold zone is the gap.
Price was already rising.
The gap sits partway up the move.

Status labels you may see

Label	What it means
Recent	A gap in the last 10 bars in a trend.
Gap filled	Price traded back into it.
None	None found.

What cancels it

Cancelled when the gap is filled.

What traders check next

Volume.
How far the move had run.
Whether it was filled.

Limits

Labels are applied after the fact.
Measuring claims are not tested well.
Rare in some markets.

Try it in forecastviz

Open any ticker and choose Gaps and breakouts → Runaway gap in the left menu.
Switch between 3M, 6M, 1Y to see how the picture changes.
Compare with Breakaway gap and Exhaustion gap on the same chart.

Open on a ticker

Questions

Why 'measuring'?

Because of the old idea that the second half repeats the first. We make no claim.

How is it different from a breakaway gap?

It comes mid-trend, not out of a range.