BRIGHTON – All of the administrative prerace preparations are just about done.

    All that’s left is the 25th running of Brighton’s Turkey Trot.

    It is set for 8:30 a.m., Nov. 21 (regardless of weather) at the Brighton Recreation Center, 555 N. 11th Ave. As he has done the past several years, Brighton cross country coach John Martinez draws the honor of sounding the starting horn.

    “Anyone and everyone can walk,” said Valerie Rodriguez with the Brighton Recreation Center. “The person who just started an exercise program can finish a 3 ½-mile race. The ladies who just joined Curves can put their efforts to the test to see if their work-out stuff has paid off.”

    The 3 ½-mile run or walk will be a chip-timed course, instead of using a manual stopwatch and running the risk of giving extra seconds to those in the back of the pack when the gun goes off.

    “That’s an advantage. If 500 people are in front of you, your first second won’t start until you cross the mat,” Rodriguez said. “We’ll still use stopwatches at the finish line in case of a computer error.”

    It’s also a qualifier for next year’s Bolder Boulder.

    Six hundred thirty people took part last year. Organizers want 700 participants (no dogs and no wagons allowed) this year.

    “Once we reach the goal of 1,000, we may to rethink this a little more,” Rodriguez said. “We may have to move the starting line. We may have use more of the room in here (the recreation center) vs. just using the gym.

    Rodriguez said she started the preparations for this year’s race a little earlier.

    “We went to more of the schools hoping to get more participants, more teams,” she said. “We did the entire district, and the schools were happy to get the information. They want to be part of it.”

    So do area businesses, in spite of the tough economy. Platte Valley Medical Center, Wells Fargo, United Bank, Valley Bank & Trust, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Starbucks Coffee, Heidi’s Brooklyn Deli and Cold Stone Creamery chipped in with products or cash donations for this year’s race.

    “Some weren’t able to do anything. Some came up with less money but improved our goody bags,” Rodriguez said.

    Boy Scout Troop 193 will be part of the set-up for the event and drew the task of pulling the name tags at the finish. The Daisy Girls Troop 3406 will be on duty at the various water stations along the 3 ½-mile course. The Brighton Senior Center is in charge of the post race breakfast.

    “You don’t have to be in good shape to run,” Rodriguez said. “One year, we had a first-year track coach who had his team run the race.”