Modern saints are accustomed to mentally picture Noah as Arnold Freiburg painted him, overweight and probably out of shape. This verse suggests something different. While it is clear that Noah survived his initial encounter with Gideon by fleeing, the verse also suggests that there was some initial physical encounter. For anyone untrained in military weaponry to long withstand the attack of one who would have been as competent as Gideon suggests that Noah had sufficient physical abilities to brunt the initial attack and give himself time to flee.
The lack of any suggestion that Gideon had to fight his way through an armed guard to even reach Noah is further suggestive that Gideon was a ranking man among the palace guard. If he had been required to fight his way into Noah's presence from outside the palace, Noah would have been notified, and his flight would have occurred even sooner. Gideon was apparently leading a palace coup, and apparently had sufficient backing by his own men that he was able to enter Noah's presence nearly unhindered. We may conclude that at this point Noah's rule was over, and that Gideon had already effectively seized government.