Tributes have been paid to long-distance running legend Gerry Fairley after he died at the age of 68.

Gerry was a veteran member of Kilbarchan Amateur Athletic Club (AAC), where he was hugely popular with team-mates.

Robert Quinn, one of the club’s most decorated athletes, likened him to fictional character Alf Tupper, known as ‘The Tough of the Track,’ whose adventures appeared as a comic strip in The Victor, reports our sister title The Gazette.

“Gerry was a mainstay of our first team and a very talented athlete,” said Robert in a poignant message posted on social media.

“As a young runner, I always looked up to Gerry. He always encouraged us and was generous with his advice but also would never give an inch in training.

“Our Monday night road sessions were just about the hardest I ever did and Gerry, with his great speed, was central to that.

“I remember training through the harsh winters of the 80s and still have a vivid picture in my mind of Gerry’s beard, glistening with snow and ice, as we arrived back at the hut in Kilbarchan public park.

“Gerry was famous for being able to train anywhere wherever he was working. In the pitch black and, famously, along the motorway very late one night between Glasgow and Paisley, as he travelled home from work.

“All Gerry needed was his trainers in a poly bag and he was off. He was our real life Alf Tupper, our Tough of the Track.”

Gerry, who once held the club marathon record of two hours and 24 minutes, won a gold medal in the over-40s European Championships in Athens in the 1990s.

A former plater in a fabrication yard, he was known to run home to Johnstone from his work in Motherwell.

A spokesperson for Kilbarchan AAC said: “We are very sad to report that Gerry Fairley, one of our top road runners of the 80s, 90s and 00s, has passed away.

“Always featuring in the first team in the longer races, there were many stories to be told.”

Gerry lived in Johnstone for around 40 years before recently moving to Bishopbriggs, where he died at the weekend after a long illness.

He is survived by his wife Elizabeth and a grown-up son and daughter.

Arrangements for Gerry’s funeral have yet to be announced.