When people ask what running has given me over the past 45 years, they usually expect me to talk about races and the places it has taken me.

All very special of course and it was through running that I was privileged to receive invitations to compete in some incredible places around the world along with experiences I could never have imagined when I first got back into competitive running aged 24 after an eight-year gap from competition.

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But as the years have passed, I've realised that running's greatest gift was not just the places I visited.

It was the people I met along the way.

Many of those friendships remain just as strong today, with friends not only throughout the United Kingdom but in many other parts of the world as well.

However, one person who immediately comes to mind is my good friend, Andrew Daly, who I did actually lose contact with until very recently.

Andy was one of Scotland's finest distance runners and a name that became very familiar to me throughout the 1980s. Like so many runners of my generation, every week I eagerly bought Athletics Weekly. There was no internet in those days. If you wanted to know who had won races or who was running well, you waited for the latest edition to arrive. Week after week, Andy Daly's name seemed to feature somewhere in the results.

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His own running career began almost by accident. While training with his school football team, endurance sessions involved running laps around the school gymnasium. Andy kept lapping everyone else, for which his PE teacher quickly realised there was something special and persuaded him to represent his school in the Glasgow Schools Championships. Competing against far more experienced athletes, Andy finished fourth, a performance that marked the beginning of an outstanding athletics career.

At 16 he joined Bellahouston Harriers and although he continued playing football, athletics was beginning to take over. He helped Bellahouston win team silver in the Scottish National Cross Country Championships before winning Scottish Junior National silver medals in both the 2,000 metres steeplechase and the 5,000 metres. Success followed him into the senior ranks, where he established himself as one of Britain's leading marathon runners.

His first London Marathon produced an excellent 2:24, but Andy continued to improve year after year until recording a superb personal best of 2:15:47. He broke two hours 20 minutes for the marathon on five occasions and proudly represented Scotland and Great Britain throughout his career. One of his finest performances in a Scotland vest came in the Glasgow Marathon, where he clocked 2:16:56, while his first Great Britain vest came in the Istanbul Marathon, finishing an outstanding fourth.

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His international career also included winning the international contest while representing Scotland at the Barcelona Marathon, where he finished fifth in 2:19, third place in the Reykjavik Marathon, sixth in the Millennium Dublin Marathon in another 2:19, five Great Britain international vests and selection for the European Cup Marathon in Rome. Also deserving of a mention is his ninth-place finish in the Great North Run in 1984 amongst what was a world-class field.

His personal bests underline just how versatile he was too: 1:54 for 800 metres, 3:52 for 1,500 metres, 14:17 for 5,000 metres, 48:17 for 10 miles, 63:38 for the half marathon and 2:15:47 for the marathon.

Like so many outstanding athletes, Andy was never one to seek the limelight. He simply got on with the job of being one of Britain's finest distance runners.

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However, as impressive as those achievements were, they only tell part of the story.

The Andy I remember most isn't simply the athlete whose name regularly appeared in Athletics Weekly. He's one of the kindest and most modest people I have had the pleasure of getting to know.

We first met properly in 1989 after both being invited to run in the Malta Marathon. We shared a room, and Andy arrived as one of the race favourites. The day before the race I suggested we head out for an easy shake-out run.

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There was just one problem.

I confidently announced that I knew exactly where I was going because I had studied a map.

Our good friends and other invited athletes Dave Jenkin, Alan Whitfield and Trevor Hawes exchanged knowing smiles. Rather more sensibly, they decided to do their own easy leg-shaker while Andy placed his trust in my navigation.

That proved to be a mistake.

What should have been a gentle few miles somehow turned into an 11-mile adventure around Malta. Looking back now it's quite funny, although it didn't seem quite so amusing at the time. Andy, as already alluded to, being one of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet, never once shouted or swore at me, although I'm fairly certain he must have been swearing under his breath.

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Eventually we found our way back to the hotel, where Dave, Alan and Trevor were waiting. By then their knowing smiles had turned into laughter. I don't think any of them were remotely surprised by what had happened and I suspect they were quietly congratulating themselves for ignoring my confident claim that I'd studied the map.

Whether those extra miles affected us the following day we will never really know, but neither of us quite produced the race we had hoped for. I managed to finish third, while Andy crossed the line in sixth.

Strangely enough, neither of us seemed too disappointed.

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What really made that trip unforgettable though was not where either of us finished or even getting lost on that shake-out run, but the people we were fortunate enough to spend time with.

Neil Featherby and friends Andy Daly, Trevor Hawes, Dave Jenkin and Alan Whitfield alongside the legend Emil Zatopek the only athlete in history to win the 5,000 metres, 10,000 metres and marathon in the same Olympic Games - 1952 (Image: Neil Featherby)

Alongside great friends like Dave, Alan and Trevor, we also shared an entire evening over dinner with marathon legends Ron Hill, Ian Thompson and, perhaps most remarkably of all, Emil Zátopek. Sitting beside Ron, whose incredible daily running streak inspired me to begin my own many years ago, was something I'll never forget. To then receive my third-place trophy from Zátopek, one of the greatest distance runners the world has ever known, made the occasion even more special.

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Andy later told me that Malta remained one of his favourite memories too and not because of the race itself, but because it was where we met and where a friendship began. To hear him say he is proud to call me a friend is something that genuinely humbles me.

Like me, Andy very much admired Emil Zátopek so meeting Emil together in Malta was one of those moments that neither of us will ever forget.

These days Andy still enjoys running and has spent the last 15 years training with his local boxing club, something he absolutely loves.

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Looking back on his own era he says: “We were truly amateur in my day and I had to fit my training in with a full-time job with HMRC. I think running has changed these days. Perhaps it’s not quite as competitive and full on as it was, but I admire all people who put on their training shoes and get out there for a run.”

I think that says everything about Andy Daly. Despite everything he achieved, he still encourages and applauds others whatever their standard when it comes to simply getting out of the door and going for a run.

When people ask me what running has given me over the past 45 years, whilst the races, medals and trophies are all part of so many super memories, they however are not the first things that come to mind. It is friendships like the one I share with Andy that matter most.