WARM tributes were paid today to one of Inverclyde’s greatest athletes, Bill Stoddart, who passed away on Monday at the age of 84.

The Greenockian was a world veteran marathon champion and set many global records at various distances.

Bill was a life member of Greenock Wellpark Harriers and later Inverclyde Athletic Club (IAC), formed when Wellpark merged with Spango Valley Athletic Club.

He didn’t start running seriously until his 30s, after winning district and national table tennis titles and playing football for many years.

Hundreds of athletics trophies soon started pouring in as he stepped up his training, and he gained his first Scottish international vest at the age of 37.

Long-time friends and running colleagues, Hugh Docherty and Gerry Gaffney, spoke of Bill’s formidable dedication to the sport.

Hugh, former IAC treasurer, said: “Bill was quite a guy. He set innumerable records at many distances from the mile to the marathon.

“I ran with him for many years at Wellpark, and I was always impressed with his tenacity. He always gave his best and was a great ambassador for athletics in Inverclyde and Scotland.” Gerry, president of IAC and Inverclyde Local Athletic Partnership, told the Telegraph that Bill was a true stalwart who made a significant contribution to Wellpark, winning many county and district titles.

Gerry said: “Bill was really keen that there should be ‘life after 40’ for athletes, and there is no doubt that Scottish Veterans, now Masters, owes him a great deal for all his hard work during the 1970s in establishing and promoting the sport. “He won the very first Scottish Veterans Cross Country Championships in the early 1970s, and also the World Veteran Cross Country Championships about the same time.

“He was president of Wellpark for a period, and also the club’s secretary and treasurer.” Bill was a member of the Gourock Highland Games committee as well as being president of the Inverclyde Athletic Initiative, which was instrumental in establishing the Inverclyde Marathon.

He won the first Inverclyde Marathon in 1981 in two hours 27 minutes 53 seconds, one of the best times in the world for a 50-year-old.

Gerry said: “Ex-Wellpark members have told me of the encouragement and support Bill gave them during their time at the club, and of his tenacity and determination as an athlete. If you wanted to beat Bill, you had to run some!

“He still could be seen running along Gourock or around his beloved Battery Park well into his 70s. Scottish Athletics has certainly lost a stalwart and great ambassador for the sport.” An exhibition about Bill’s achievements was held last year at the Dutch Gable House, organised by his wife, Betty, and Inverclyde Community Development Trust. It included a picture of him on his way to winning Spain’s veteran half-marathon. He was a life member of Benidorm Athletic Club on the Costa Blanca, where he used to spend the winter with Betty, and won many titles there. Bill was a draughtsman at Kincaid’s engineering works and then an industrial studies lecturer at James Watt College. He gained a BA honours degree in industrial relations at the Open University and a Masters in the subject from Strathclyde University.

Bill is survived by Betty, their son Donald, who is a retired GP, daughter-in-law Josephine and grandsons Jack and Tom.

The family are asking friends to consider making a donation in memory of Bill to Alzheimer’s Research UK, rather than sending cards or flowers.

Bill’s funeral will be at noon on 19 August in Greenock Crematorium.