Go One More

Go One More is a mentality which we can use in all facets of our lives. In my opinion, it means pushing beyond your comfort limit in order to achieve growth. It can be interpreted literally as running one more mile or doing one more rep in the gym. However, it also extends to our personal and professional lives. “Go One More” is a powerful message which beckons its listeners to strive towards improvement which is what life is all about.

I Went 13.1 More

“Go One More” is part of the mission statement of a health and supplement brand called Bare Performance Nutrition. Nick Bare created the brand when he was a college student in 2012 with the intent of catering towards weightlifters with supplements. After participating in several endurance events, Nick and the brand expanded their product offerings to include endurance supplements, leading to rapid growth. What really sets BPN apart is that they are a “brand,” not just a “company.” More important than just providing the community with supplements, they create content and host events to build community and motivate the brand’s followers as they chase their own personal goals.

With a difference of a few seconds in my life, I might never have come across Nick and BPN. I was on a backpacking trip in June 2022. I caught a glimpse of a man wearing a backwards Ironman hat at the top of a mountain just before he continued his hike. After that trip, I was curious about Ironman competitions so I searched about them on YouTube. That’s when I found Nick’s channel, where he has been documenting the growth of BPN and his fitness goals since 2012.

Before discovering BPN, I was already signed up for my first half marathon for October 2022. 5 weeks before the half marathon, I saw someone run a cool 18 mile route on Strava. Somehow it got into my head that the next day I was going to try out that run. I ran the 18 miles (a 6 mile PR) and changed my registration from the half marathon to the full marathon. 5 weeks later I ran 26.2 miles in 3 hours and 34 minutes; a time which I am very happy with for my first marathon – especially having learned a lot more about running since then and seeing areas for improvement in my training. I think that running marathons is at least 50% a mental challenge. This proved to me that I am a lot more capable than I thought, and gave me the confidence to go on to run a 50 mile ultramarathon the following year.

We Can All Go One More

Go One More is applicable to everyone. Even if you don’t run or lift weights. Following this mentality can add value to all of our lives.

It has always been in my nature to elevate outside of my comfort zone. I realized in retrospect that Going One More was leading to all of my personal and academic successes in college. I transformed from an antisocial person before college into the president of my fraternity, with close friends who share my interests. I took every opportunity that I could to enhance my resume, leading to three summer internships at companies which work to defend our country where I developed my engineering skills beyond what you can learn in a college curriculum. I copied Nick Bare’s weekly meal prep of ground turkey, rice and broccoli and made that for my lunches every single day for the last two years of college. I’ll be the first to admit that my diet is not perfect (as is normal for people my age), but I made reasonable efforts to make it healthier than average. This, combined with prioritizing sleep throughout college, gave me lots of energy every day and allowed my mind and body to be functioning at their best when I needed them to.

Going One More was doing the mundane task of hours of homework every day. In this case, it was spending hours in the robotics lab getting this robot up and running.

One More Step

This has to be my mentality on the AT. As I’ve previously written about, I’ve been idealizing the AT in my head for years, but I know that it will become a mental challenge within a few weeks of starting my journey. I’m going to be filthy – I will take every opportunity I can find to jump in a river or lake because I’ll be lucky to shower in a hostel once a week. I’m going to be tired of hiking 15+ miles with a 30 pound pack on my back every day. Nagging injuries are commonplace and I’ll probably have to grit my way through them. One More Step towards Maine is what I will have to tell myself in order to keep going.

Join the BPN Community!

BPN is only beginning and the brand leaders hope to impact many more lives in the future. Nick Bare is a daily inspiration for me. On top of sharing about training for his fitness goals, he shares about his experiences as an entrepreneur and father. I listen to his weekly podcasts where he shares this information and often invites guests to share from their experiences in fitness, business and their personal lives. I encourage you to follow him and BPN on Instagram (@nickbarefitness and @bpnsupps). I follow several other BPN brand ambassadors too:

  • Sally McRae: Sally is one of the most accomplished American ultrarunners. She won Badwater 135 in 2021 and recently has been on a tear of several 200+ mile courses around the country. Similar to Nick, she is much more than her athletic pedigree. She has an Instagram page and podcast of her own, where she and her husband share genuine advice for people from all walks of life. They are extremely transparent about how they overcome challenges in their lives which makes them very relatable. Sally’s Instagram account is @yellowrunner and their podcast is called the Choose Strong Podcast.
  • Nico Felich: I relate a lot to Nico because we are the same age. He is a big marathon runner and is a few weeks away from attempting to run a marathon in under 2 hours and 50 minutes. I imagine myself in Nico’s shoes a lot because I aspire to live my life the way that he lives his after I finish the AT and am living in my first apartment and working. I learn a lot about fitness, life and creating content from Nico’s Instagram (@nicofelich) and YouTube channel.

AT Update

I am less than two months away from my start date on the AT of March 15th and I am so excited! Being done with school gives me a lot of time to think about and plan for my thru-hike. More updates to come soon here and on my Instagram!

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Comments 4

  • Fun Size : Jan 20th

    Jared, I, too, am so excited to start my 2025 AT thru-hike. I hope to see you on the trail!!

    Reply
    • Jared Zornitzer : Jan 21st

      Good luck preparing, hope to see you out there!

      Reply
  • Jess : Jan 27th

    Jared, loved reading about how a chance sighting of a hat on a backpacking trip completely transformed your life. Really goes to show how the smallest moments in life can be the most meaningful. Thanks for sharing! And congrats on your marathon – so badass!

    Reply
    • Jared Zornitzer : Jan 27th

      Thank you Jess! Exactly, if I didn’t see that hat my life might be completely different right now.

      Reply

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