off and running

An allusion to the beginning of a footrace or horse race, when competitors rush forth out of the starting blocks or gate.

• "But both newspapers made the same point. . . . And so the story was off and running."
• "The train won't budge, but the film that this scene opens, the Kafkaesque Romanian comedy "California Dreamin'," is off and running."
• "[T]he recovery seems to have entered a new stage in recent months. “We’re finally off and running,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics."

• off to the races