Blur

This achievement will take time and patience, and lots of restarting.

There are two times when one can properly approach the gates, in first with enough of a lead for little interference or in last.

If the fan run is near the start of a level, allow the AI a headstart of about 10-15 seconds so they won't be in the way. This allows you to try the fan run without being attacked, and if you mess up, you can restart without losing much time. You of course will need to be skilled enough to retake the race and finish in the top 3, but it's not too hard to do on easy.

Another strategy when approaching fan runs as a means to fan targets is to gain a large lead in first and attempt the fanrun. This plan's issues include interference from the shock powerups and shunts, but it is much easier to place this way in a difficult race.

The last tip I have is for one of the races in showdown, The SanFran track, there will be a gate off a jump and another gate below an underpass the jump will launch you over, to prevent this, fire a nitro backwards to stop in midair, good luck with the rest of the fanrun from there, because the gates are put in a spiteful formation that makes the joy of figuring out the second gate disappear fast. But airbraking in midair is COOL. That is all.

I just finished this last night after a few days' worth of grinding.

The first thing you need to do is figure out where the fan run starts. This can get annoying if the track has multiple splits, so take different routes each lap if you can't find it.

The second and most obvious thing is to figure out the placement of the gates. I find that using a Grippy or Very Grippy car is best, because the drifty ones can screw up your accuracy...some of the gates are placed on the inside of curves. When you start the run, only concentrate on the run, not on staying fast and winning the race.

Once you know at least where it begins and have a vague notion of "problem" gates (since you probably failed the first attempt), take the next lap around and try to collect 2 nitros and a shield. The nitros are useful if there are a couple gates that are really spread out (there are a few like this in Showdown), and the shield in case opponent decide to harass you. I found that using the Titanium Shield mod works best when attempting fan runs.

Good luck and happy grinding!