A student wrote the following sentence in an essay:

Running from the back of his skull down to the front, is a patch of white hair that opens up into his lips.
The comma doesn't belong there, but I'm not sure why.  Is the "Running" phrase a gerund?  If so, then I understand why the comma is wrong:  it separates the subject from the verb  However, the phrase doesn't behave like a gerund.  Compare:

Running around the lake is a part of my daily routine. --> It is a part of my daily routine.  --> A part of my daily routine is running around the lake.

In this sentence, the "Running" phrase behaves like a true noun phrase in a linking verb sentence.  My student's "Running" phrase doesn't behave like an NP.  It feels participial, modifying "patch".  If so, then the comma would be correct.  But it's not.

Any ideas out there?

John
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