As Patrick explained in the Empire interview, the first time they filmed the run at the mall, before the semi-truck sequence, he closed the gap on Furlong entirely. His own words, included in the viral clip: “That’s me. First time I did the run, I caught the kid.

James Cameron confirms, BUT, he says it happened when the bike was pulled by the camera car:

https://youtu.be/I4EVNIcGxjE?t=105