Here, a number of veteran Boston runners remember the man in full. Without his energy and passion, the Boston Marathon might not have survived the lean years after World War II. Semple was born in Scotland, immigrated to the U.S., ran Boston a handful of times himself (with a best of 2:45:09 in 1947), and then served as volunteer race director through much of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s. He was trying to rip off her numbers, as Amateur Athletic Union rules did not allow women to enter officially.

The couple had no children.Jock Semple is best remembered as the apparent madman who chased after Kathrine Switzer 50 years ago in the 1967 Boston Marathon. Semple’s wife, Elizabeth, died four years ago. But the two became friends and held a running clinic last year on the 20th anniversary of their confrontation. Switzer was officially thrown out of the race and a photo of Semple ripping at the number was published around the world. But during the race Semple spotted her, ran off the press bus and grabbed the top of her number before he was hit with a body block by a friend of Switzer’s. Switzer had gained an entry number by using only her first initial. Amateur Athletic Association to sanction women marathoners in the early 1970s.īut he was a stickler for rules and is best remembered for chasing Katherine Switzer, who participated in the Boston Marathon in 1967, when the race was still barred to women. He is credited with adding qualifying times for the race and with getting the U.S. Semple for years was official registrar for the race, which has grown from about 150 entrants after World War II to nearly 7,000 today. He finished in the top 10 in the race seven times but had his greatest impact on the 26.2-mile event as an administrator. Semple ran in his first American marathon in 1926 and his first Boston Marathon in 1929.

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