Thought I would throw this in, the Illinois was $75 earlier, is now at $90 but goes to $100 on 2/28.  Another event organized by runners; people from the LRS and some of the people from Marathon and Beyond.

Just ran Birch Bay yesterday here in WA.  It was only $45 for the marathon, and was a small, friendly race.  It's a beautiful course that would have been even nicer without the rain.

The Shamrock is $85 if you register early.  I haven't run it yet, but have heard nothing but good things about it.  I'm running the half this year and the full next year.

http://www.shamrockmarathon.com/

There's a number of fat-asses where they're willing to let you do it free. And they give out extra mileage free too. To everybody.

And they don't make you wear a chip.

And lots of the time, they also don't make you run next to automobiles spewing exhaust.

There is a cheap ($40 - $70) trail marathon (most races also have shorter distances and a 50K) virtually every weekend in the Bay Area. Check out Coastal Trail Runs, Inside Trail or Pacific Coast Trail Runs. Most courses have loops and a lot of hills, but the scenery is absolutely incredible so you barely notice seeing the same view twice. Flawlessly executed events with great aid stations and volunteers.

If you have run the Maine Coast Marathon back in the '80s you can sing up for this year's race for $15:

http://www.mainecoast262.com/

 

pancake flat, boring, windy, and all the hotels require a two night stay.  went once, would never do it again.

To each their own, but i say flat = fast  Plus I live here, so no hotel for me.

Just another vote for both Green Mountain (GMM) and Baystate.  Two very different flavors, but both are races for runners, by runners at their core, and worth every $.

+1 for GMM.  And if you're under 20 you can chase my age group record (2:53), though it looks like they may have changed the course.