You guys are forgetting a few things on race costs...
1. Police protection
2. Race permits
3. A very large majority of racers would be pissed if no t-shirt so you have to have them or something like that
4. Money to the winners
5. Pay the event organizers
6. Awards...the list could go on and on...
I have been closely associated witha major road race in the Mid-west. We run a 5K, 12K, and a Half. The first year I ran it off we lost 55 thousand dollars. (We did a lot of unneccessary things) Second year we made $900 and then the third we lost $4000.
Our biggest costs...21K for give away, 15K for prize money, 25K for race organizers, 14K for police, 25K for signage and service during race and packet pick-up...again the list could go on but these were the big ticket items...
Cost per runner ended up being $17...our charge was $15, $20, and $25...soe we were losing $2 every time someone entered the 5K...we raised the costs up $5 a race...by doing this you still have to have race participation to break even and be able to give to the local charity...or you have to have great sponsorship support...
I for one still enjoy the big events and will still try to put on a big quality event for the runners who attend...
by the way my first road race was a four miler...we went 2 miles up and turned around a cone and headed back...I lost a trophy by one place as they only gave out three with no age group awards...cost $5...