Lois Gilmore can't remember the last time she placed second in her age group in a footrace.

That's not a boast, she assures. Often, there simply aren't many other runners her age.

"I think I've eliminated a lot of the competition by now," she says, laughing.

At 78, Gilmore, of Janesville, is often the oldest runner in a race. But what a runner.

Running Times magazine just named her the fastest runner in the country for women ages 75-79. Saturday, she will attempt to win her age group for the sixth consecutive year at the 2009 Crazylegs Classic.

The 8-kilometer race (4.97 miles) and two-mile walk, named for University of Wisconsin-Madison football great Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch, brought 17,500 participants to Downtown last year. Race organizers expect to exceed that number this year. Proceeds benefit UW-Madison athletic programs.

Gilmore covered the 8K course last year in 46 minutes and 28 seconds, a 9:21 per-mile pace. She placed 5,805th out of 10,174 race finishers.

Gilmore has a drive that borders on obsessiveness — she competes in about 60 races a year, sometimes two per weekend. The competitiveness comes from a hard-won place.

She suffered a stroke seven years ago while running that left her with poor vision and a spotty memory. She no longer can drive a car or ride a bike. Reading is difficult.

"I don't think I'd be like this if I had other diversions," she said. "Right now, it's my everything. When I'm running, I'm equal to everybody."

Cancer survivor

A different health setback got her into running as a 59-year-old in 1990. Diagnosed with breast cancer, she underwent a mastectomy that made it difficult to swing a tennis racket, her first love. Depressed and feeling cooped up, she started jogging, then racing.

She racked up medals, but then, during a six-mile training run in 2002, she dropped to the ground for no discernible reason. She picked herself up but fell again.

Alone, she walked three miles home, then called her husband, Wayne, a dentist. Alarmed, he got her to the hospital, where she remained in intensive care for a month.

It remains unclear what caused the stroke, said Gilmore, a retired elementary school teacher. Two doctors counseled her against running again, but a neurologist said her chances of having another stroke while running were slim.

Gilmore's husband said he never doubted she'd run again. The two, married 54 years with three children and six grandchildren, travel to races together. Wayne Gilmore, 75, runs most of the races, too, although he finishes behind her and that's fine. "I'm mediocre, at best," he said.

At first, the stroke weighed heavily on her during runs, Lois Gilmore said. "I would wonder, 'Is it going to happen again? Is this the day?' Now, I really don't think about it. I worry more about shin splints."

She considers any victory a win for both her and her husband. "He finds the races and gets me to them. I don't know what I'd do without him."

U.S. record holder

In 2007, Gilmore set a U.S. 5K record for women 75-79 that still stands. She covered the distance in 26 minutes and one second, an 8:22 per-mile pace.

Because she doesn't always have competition in her age group at races, she runs against international age standards. Her finish times almost always put her in the world-caliber category.

"Oh, my goodness, she's just incredible," said Laura Clark-Taylor, 52, the 2002 Crazylegs female winner.

Last year, Clark-Taylor, a fellow cancer survivor, won a free airline ticket for her high finish at the Susan G. Komen Madison Race for the Cure. She gave the prize to Gilmore. "That's how close we all feel to her," Clark-Taylor said.

Saturday, Gilmore will line up with thousands of others on the Capitol Square for the 8K run. She will not be the youngest or the fastest, but she will be checking her watch just as intently as the first-place finisher.