attempt vs take a run at

attempt

verb
  • To try. 

noun
  • The action of trying at something. 

  • An assault or attack, especially an assassination attempt. 

take a run at

verb
  • To attempt to achieve or acquire. 

  • To attack or challenge or to try to attack or challenge. 

How often have the words attempt and take a run at occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )