Outstanding beautiful setting for a marathon. Considering you are surrounded by mountains it is a surprisingly flat course, but be prepared for a slight rise over the last few Kilometers into Malcesine. Did a PB so I can't complain. Very well organised for a relativly small marathon, ample water/sport drinks, bananas and biscuits to go round. If you rely on spectators to encourage you round you will be in trouble as the roads between the villages are deserted but well enough supported within them. Don't rely on your GPS as there are lot of tunnels and you keep loosing reception but what the heck you are that busy looking around when you are in the open you can be forgiven about checking your pace and it appears to look after itself anyway.
I stayed in Limone (where the marathon starts) which was ideal as I didn't have to stress about getting onto a crowded boat at 7:00am, get a good breakfast at a reasonable time and dander up to the start at my leisure. Getting back, from the finish in Malcesine, was simple as the ferry is free, on race day, for all runners and they put on extra boats.
In essance if you want to do a PB in one of the most beautiful parts of the world (and at a reasonable cost) this has to be on your agenda.

Very beautiful flat marathon.Running along the lake, through tunnels, by vineyards, through old European city streets makes this a must do marathon.This was my 9th European marathon and one of the nicest. It is located in small resort town on Lake Garda. It was neat taking the ferry across the lake for the start. Great weather this year!

Hard to believe fewer than 2,000 runners embark on this adventure around the GardaSee. Starting the day on a 7 a.m. ferry across the lake to Limone Sur Garda with almost half of the race participants was unique - as were 90% of the the first 7 miles running through tunnels on west shore. Middle section running through vineyards and along river was beautiful, as was the final third running down the eastern shore to castle village of Malcesine. Every time you looked up, the dolomites rose majestically in the blue sky. Careful with the uphill finish miles - the only hills on the course that merit mention. Run this race, even if you don't speak Italian like me. What a value: 35 euros!

I stayed on the east side of the lake and took the morning ferry to the start. The first half of the course is really beautiful running along the west side of Lake Garda and along the mountains. We ran through many tunnels, which made it even more interesting. Most tunnels had the side open so you had natural light. The second half was not as awesome as the first half as you left the lake area and ran into the countryside. The only complaint I have is about the water stops. During the first half they were every five kilometers and the second half around every six kilometers. As it was pretty warm with lots of sunshine, we runners needed water every three or so kilometers. The race finished right in front of my hotel, which was great. I highly recommend this marathon! It is small with only around 2,000 runners, which makes it great to run a fast race. All in all, a great marathon!