The phrase 'looks to be' = seems to be. It seems as if she is running....

I would like to point out that the correct grammatical construction is *not* "to be + infinitive + gerund" as noted in the heading. Rather, the construction is "to be + present progressive." In other words, there is no infinitive between "to be" and "running" in the example given. Rather, "to be + present progressive" is just the infinitive form that follows another verb. Other examples: Appears to + be verb-ing seems to + be verb-ing looks to + be verb-ing So instead of writing "she appears to run out of time," the author is emphasizing the present progressive, and writes "she appears to be running out of time" because it is ungrammatical in English to write "she appears to is running out of time." *Note gerunds are nouns in English. Ex: "Singing is my favorite activity." ("Singing" is a gerund/noun here). In the sentence given, "running" is not a noun, but the present progressive tense of a verb.

/Jessica Ennis-Hill looks to run out of time for world glory bid Could imply that she wants to run out of time, while the sentence, "Jessica Ennis-Hill is looking to run out of time for world glory bid" would certainly imply that she wants to run out of time. I hope this helps. Cheers.