diff --git a/tests/semaphore.test.bash b/tests/semaphore.test.bash
index ee085e516..30c8dc501 100755
--- a/tests/semaphore.test.bash
+++ b/tests/semaphore.test.bash
@@ -7,11 +7,15 @@ fi
 
 TEST_SUFFIX=$(date +%s | base64 | head -c 15)
 
-TEST_OPTS="PASSES='build release e2e' MANUAL_VER=v3.3.7"
-if [ "$TEST_ARCH" == "386" ]; then
+if [ -z "${TEST_OPTS}" ]; then
+	TEST_OPTS="PASSES='build release e2e' MANUAL_VER=v3.3.7"
+fi
+if [ "${TEST_ARCH}" == "386" ]; then
   TEST_OPTS="GOARCH=386 PASSES='build e2e'"
 fi
 
+echo "Running tests with" ${TEST_OPTS}
+
 docker run \
   --rm \
   --volume=`pwd`:/go/src/github.com/coreos/etcd \