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QUINCY, ILL. -- This year's Bridge the Gap to Health Race in Quincy was the biggest money maker in its 11 year history.

The fundraiser brought in a record amount of $75,000, all of which benefits the MedAssist Program run by Quincy Catholic Charities.

"The money stays local and goes to people who can't afford prescription medications," said Race Director Carrie Kimber.

The funds from this year's race made up about half of what's needed to run MedAssist. Last year, the program provided medications to 460 people, a number that continues to rise.

"We're seeing more people who have lost their prescription coverage with an employer, or they've lost medicaid or medicare benefits. So we're seeing more people needing a prescription coverage on a daily basis," said Jackie Raleigh, the area director of Quincy Catholic Charities.

The Bridge the Gap to Health Race has allowed the MedAssist program to provide more than 8 million dollars worth of prescriptions in the last decade.

"I always hold that close to me, because it does so much for so many people and in a lot of ways it's life saving. I mean, Bridge the Gap, people go out there and do something wonderful for themselves but they're also doing wonderful things for our community," said Kimber.

Kimber credits much of this year's funds to those who participated in the half marathon.

"The half marathon has really grown, and with adding the walking half marathon, that really helped to boost our numbers," said Carrie Kimber. "The training program this year raised a record $8,000 and so that was a matter of having 200 people running and walking the streets of Quincy for 14 weeks to train up for that half marathon. They did super. You see all shapes and sizes and it's people who really commit to a goal and go out there for a good cause," said Kimber.

"It's a great event. It's fun. It's a family event and we're really going to play on that next year and get the families back out to the race. It was rainy this year. But we're trying to get families to register early and still come out to enjoy the walk," said Raleigh.

The 12th Annual Bridge the Gap to Health Race is May 12, 2012. You can register for the race on Active.com. Everyone who signs up for the half marathon race before December 31, 2011 will receive an $11 discount on that event. You can find more information on the race at www.bridgethegaptohealth.com.