Bureaucrat, one who numbers runners? (4,7)
I believe the answer is:
bean counter
'bureaucrat' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'one who numbers runners?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'one' could be 'un' (northern English dialect form of 'one') and 'un' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for bean counter that I've seen before include "stingy financial official?" , "Accountant, colloquially" , "Accountant (slang)" , "who worries about finances?" , "Cost-conscious bureaucrat" .)