In his late teens and early twenties (having trained as a fitter and turner, losing two of his fingers in the process) he became a well-known figure in local athletics before emigrating to Southern Rhodesia in 1954.
The following year he participated in the South African Marathon Championships and came second to Jan Barnard.
Moreover, he ran in the gruelling Comrades Marathon, a 90 km (56 mi) event between the cities of Pietermaritzburg and Durban, and came fourth of 92 entrants.
"[2] Dodds later gave up athletics, having participated in the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, and became a successful amateur jockey.
He won over 50 races, including the Rhodesian Grand National in 1965 when he rode Tempelhof, owned by Sir Henry Grattan-Bellew.