'The thing that made me so damned mad,' Semple said, 'was that the guy was runnin' with the good runners.' at the 6.5 miles (10.5 km) mark. Jock's method of attack is apt to vary.' In 1957, Semple narrowly escaped arrest for assault after attempting to knock down a marathon competitor who was wearing webbed snorkeler's shoes and a grotesque mask. In a 1968 interview with Sports Illustrated, he remarked 'These screwballs! These weirdies!' crying at the ceiling 'These MIT boys! These Tufts characters! These Harvard guys! They write me askin' should they put on spiked shoes for the marathon!' According to fellow race official Will Cloney: 'He hurls not only his body at them, but also a rather choice array of epithets. He had an established history dating back to at least 1957 of physically attacking Boston Marathon runners he perceived to be 'non serious' competitors, whether officially entered or running the course unofficially. Semple became known to a lay audience while working as a Boston Marathon race co-director.

He was a masseur and physical therapist for the Boston Bruins and the Boston Celtics, and a trainer for Olympic athletes. He moved to Boston after running in his first Boston Marathon and began to work in sport-related fields. Semple was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and emigrated to the United States in 1921 to work as a cabinetmaker in Philadelphia. He subsequently oversaw implementation of qualifying times in 1970 and, in response to lobbying and rule changes by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), the implementation of a separate women's race in 1972. Semple subsequently claimed that amateur rules banned women racing for more than 1.5 miles (2.4 km). Switzer was officially entered in the race in accordance with the Boston Marathon's rule book which at that time made no mention of sex. In 1967, he attained worldwide notoriety as a race official for the Boston Marathon, when he repeatedly assaulted 20 year old marathon runner Kathrine Switzer and knocked down her coach when he tried to protect her. John Duncan Semple (Octo– March 10, 1988) was a Scottish-American runner, physical therapist, trainer, and sports official.

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