That is a big tablerunner. I admit, that I didn't realize WOF at first either. Good luck with whatever you decide.

I just made a 6 foot x 24" table runner. I cross-hatched every 3" for the quilting. I used a low loft (warm and natural) batting and it did not create any "tipping" problems.

How about following the design on the red/white side a la Maureen Noble. She did that a lot in class I took from her many years ago. I find it saves me all kinds of frustration about How to Quilt it.
Use red on that side and a pale blue on top. Just asuggestion

I did a runner that was 1 ft by 30 ft. I appliqued the first digits of PI 3.14159... For my math classroom. The applique was boring but I used fruit and meat fabrics. Took a long time for students to think Apple pie, cherry pie, chicken pie,... The hard part wasn't the quilting but the binding! I'd want to buy premade binding if possible. Good luck!