Talisman has the POTENTIAL to drag on awhile as folks resist heading into the Middle Region and further. Players often want to become uber-powerful before making that move.
I think the Reaper expansion might help move things along a bit in this regard!
Personally, I'm more a fan Talisman than Runebound, but I like them both and there's PLENTY of room for both to co-exist. Other than both being "fantasy boardgames", they don't have a ton of things in common. I look forward to playing lots of BOTH in the future! So many Runebound expansions owned, but so few played so far...