Organization has improved a lot, and this year the race was nearly perfect.
No confusion at the expo like last year. And the start was smoother because runners were allocated in the right corrals.
I'll give a ***** rating to the organizers.
This race is simply magical.
Marc.

Of the three marathons I have run (Athens, Venice, and Paris) this one was the most fun. I loved the enthusiasm of Italians, Venice is beautiful, the snacks and drinks were plentiful, the route was flat and mostly pretty, fan support and dj's were encouraging. The ramps on the canals would not have been bad if not for the people who came to a dead stop on them in front of me. The prices of the Expo were great, only place I've been to with discounts for runners. I never received my pictures from the race (three requests later) and that is my only complaint. Well, ok, maybe my pasta party expectations were high since this is Italy, after all. Nevertheless, I highly recommend this race, especially if you don't enjoy huge crowds.

The organizers of the Venice Marathon appear to have improved over the
horror stories I have heard about previous years -- and the comments here
on this site are from the 2000 race and earlier. Here are the improvements:
- Water and gatorade bottles every 5km - no fizzy water
- More port-a-potties at the start in Stra
- Better food packet at the finish line
- Sort-of enough buses for the entrants (see below)
However, there are a number of other problems which plague this race:
- One hour wait in line to get bib and chip
- Have to travel to Mestre (outside of Venice) to pick them up
- Goody bag in a completely differently location several blocks away
- Bus information (to start) not included in race packet, but must go to yet another booth
- Not enough buses from Venice to the starting line: half the runners must stand for the 40 minute ride
- Poorly designed access to the starting area, which created big bottlenecks
- No seeding at start line (despite the fact that they request your best
marathon time on the entry form), meaning that I had to pass 2000+ people unnecessarily
- They charge a far higher entry fee for international participants
There are some very nice features of the race, though:
- Last two km in Venice itself is beautiful
- Free massages at the end -- all done by young women, working in pairs (oh, those Italians)
- Flat, fast course with typically good running weather through mostly
beautiful region along the River Brenta
- It's in Venice, for God's sake!
And one big 'feature' of the course:
- There are 12 footbridges to cross in the last 1.5km, including a temporary pontoon bridge spanning the Grand Canal.
I would not recommend this for a first marathon, due to the additional organizational problems which will only distract a newbie. But it was an
overall enjoyable race. The Italians are a bit reserved as fans, but cheering
*at them* seems to get them excited a bit! And the finish along the waterfront in Venice is amazing and weird at the same time.

The first half of the marathon and the two last miles are beautiful.
The organization is pretty good... once you have managed to get your number and chip the day before (Exposport is really a mess: overcrowded, no indication and just don't even think to park your car in the area). Starting blocks are not respected at all and you have to wait a little bit before you can start running normally (6.400 at the start in Stra near Padova).
For the rest: spectators and staff are friendly and help you to forget the bridges (yes : 13 or so... ***ouch***)at the end of the race.
You can expect a good time, as the race is flat (except the 13 bridges ;-)). But slow runners are very welcome.
Nice medal and race packet. Cool website.
I strongly recommend this one.
Marc.

The Italians manage to share their magic with everyone, they laugh as they run, the crowd is also fascinating! I will come again!

My wife and I did Venice on our Honeymoon this year (2000). The organization sucked! It took 2 hours to get to the start where there were only enough port-a-johns for 1/3 of the people. They had no H2O at the start either. As for the water, through the first 15k, it had bubbles. They finally gave Euroaide at 15k. As for the 5k in Venice that everyone talks about - 4k of that is around the back side of Venice. You finally get into the good part of Venice at 41k. When you finish, they give you a small bag with a bananna and one bottle of Euroaide! All in all, it was a good experience because it was an international marathon. But, I would not recomended it to a beginer unless you want a flat 40k and the last 2k with some bridges to go over.

Chartered buses, which came with the hotel reservation, took us to the start with no problem.
Course is flat and scenic for 32 K, then 3 or 4 K on the causeway (which has no shade) then thru Venice itself with wooden ramps over the bridges to make the grade up and down a reasonable one.
Water or 'Energade' every 5 K, cooling sponges at 7.5 K intervals.
Spectators were enthusiastic, from the Sunday morning church goers on the mainland to the outdoor diners in the Venice cafes along the route.
Venice is certainly worthy as a repeat marathon.

This was my 13th marathon, and definitely one of my top favorites ... very well organized, great support, and a good course. The last five kilometers, however, were on stone and included a dozen or so canal bridges. This was tougher than I anticipated, but then again this stage is always miserable, and the beauty of Venice definitely helped me.

They served Frizzante (carbonated water) the first 15km, and no plan to transport people to the race start from downtown Venice!!!! Typical of Italian orginazation.

The course is very flat, fast and relatively scenic with no traffic issues. The last 5K is in Venice and the numerous small bridges make the finish more difficult than expected. The weather turned bad and flooding on the course did not help. However, that is part of the charm of Venice. Very good organization and plenty of water/sports drink every 5K.