When you take your first few steps as a new runner, you never know where the journey might lead you. Running is a sport of many niches, and each runner tends to find his or her niche sooner or later.

Ben Wyld, 32, was destined for trail ultramarathons, but he had no idea this was the case when he started out as a self-described fitness runner. Nevertheless, just eight months after completing his first 10K race, the husband and father of three girls, who works as a house manager in Frome, Wiltshire, England, covered ten times that distance in a trail event and was hooked.

Still a relative beginner, Ben knew he needed expert guidance, and his search for a training system that fit his needs led him to try an 80/20 Endurance plan. “The results so far have been an increase in fitness and performance,” he says. “I can run much farther at a constant pace than I have ever been able to before I also know so much more about my body and limits.”

The Coronavirus pandemic has so far prevented Ben from testing these benefits in competition, but the opportunity should come fairly soon. In the meantime, he offers this advice to other runners who are practicing or considering the 80/20 approach: “Get yourself a heart rate strap to ensure you’re on point with you zones and let the system take care of the rest. But when you do have the chance to go faster, make sure you give it your all.”