POLO ASSN, PALM BEACHES MARATHON AND ONE LOCAL GIRL IS PROVING THAT ENDURANCE ISN’T JUST FOR THE TRACK. SPORTS DIRECTOR SHAYNE WRIGHT INTRODUCES US TO A RUNNER WHO IS HITTING ALL THE RIGHT NOTES ON AND OFF THE COURSE. IT WAS ONCE SAID MUSIC CAN CALM THE AGITATIONS OF THE SOUL. AND WHEN WORDS FAIL, MUSIC SPEAKS. IZZY BERNAL HAS BEEN SPEAKING LIKE THIS SINCE SHE WAS FOUR. MY MOM IS A MUSICIAN, SO MUSIC HAS BEEN PART OF MY LIFE ALWAYS. I PLAYED PIANO, I SANG, I PLAYED ALL DIFFERENT STYLES AND CLASSICAL AND JAZZ. I WAS ALWAYS PRETTY DIVERSE. MUSICIAN. THE WELLINGTON NATIVE IS NOW A SOPHOMORE AT CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY IN PITTSBURGH, MAJORING IN PIANO PERFORMANCE, AND HAS EVEN PLAYED AT CARNEGIE HALL, THE MECCA OF MUSIC. AND WHILE THE SOOTHING SOUNDS COMING FROM THOSE 88 KEYS ON HER PIANO MAY EVEN PACIFY THE SOUL. WHAT YOU SEE IS JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG. IT’S HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS. A SINGLE PIECE THAT’S MAYBE A COUPLE MINUTES LONG CAN EASILY TAKE MONTHS TO LEARN AND TO PERFECT. AND THAT’S PART OF WHY SHE TURNED TO RUNNING AN ESCAPE FROM THE SOMETIMES MENTAL EXHAUSTION OF LEARNING AND PERFORMING CLASSICAL MUSIC. IT’S REALLY JUST LIKE GIVING ME A WAY TO GROUND MYSELF AND TO LET LOOSE FROM THE STRAIN THAT’S SITTING DOWN. ALL THOSE HOURS CAN DO. AND IN HER SEARCH FOR CALMNESS, A CONNECTION WHEN I RUN, YOU KNOW, IT’S IT’S MIND OVER BODY. YOU HAVE TO TELL YOUR BODY THAT LIKE YOU’RE NOT TIRED, YOU CAN’T KEEP RUNNING. AND IT’S THE SAME THING WHEN I SIT DOWN TO PLAY AT THE PIANO. HER JOURNEY IN MUSIC HAS BEEN A MARATHON ITSELF, BUT SHE NOW HAS A NEW CONDUIT TO TRANQUILITY, A NEW PLACE FOR PEACE. IT REALLY DOES JUST CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE IN LIFE. AND JUST EVERYTHING’S A LITTLE BIT BRIGHTER. WHAT A GREAT PIANO PLAYER. HEY, THERE IS STILL TIME TO SIGN UP IF YOU’D LIKE TO TAKE PART. THE HALF AND FULL MARATHONS ARE ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14TH AND WPBF WILL HAVE LIVE COVERAGE STARTING AT 5 A.M. ON RACE DAY. YOU CAN REGISTER BY GOIN
Izy Bernal, a Wellington native and sophomore at Carnegie Mellon University, uses music and running to find peace and escape mental exhaustion. “My mom is a musician, so music has been part of my life always,” Bernal said. “I play the piano, I sing, I play all different styles and classical and jazz. I was always a diverse musician.”Bernal has played at Carnegie Hall, a renowned venue in the music world. Despite the soothing sounds of her piano, Bernal acknowledges the effort behind each performance. “What you see is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s hours and hours. A single piece that’s maybe a couple minutes long can easily take months to learn and to perfect,” she said.To escape the mental exhaustion of learning and performing classical music, Bernal turned to running. “It’s really just given me a way to ground myself and to let loose from the strain that sitting down all those hours can do to me,” she said. Running offers her a connection between mind and body, similar to her experience with music. “When I run, it’s mind over body. You have to tell your body that you’re not tired. You can keep running, and it’s the same thing when I sit down at the piano,” Bernal said.Her journey in music has been a marathon itself, but running provides a new conduit to tranquility. “It really does just change your perspective in life, and everything is just a little bit brighter,” Bernal said.Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
Izy Bernal, a Wellington native and sophomore at Carnegie Mellon University, uses music and running to find peace and escape mental exhaustion.
“My mom is a musician, so music has been part of my life always,” Bernal said. “I play the piano, I sing, I play all different styles and classical and jazz. I was always a diverse musician.”
Bernal has played at Carnegie Hall, a renowned venue in the music world. Despite the soothing sounds of her piano, Bernal acknowledges the effort behind each performance.
“What you see is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s hours and hours. A single piece that’s maybe a couple minutes long can easily take months to learn and to perfect,” she said.
To escape the mental exhaustion of learning and performing classical music, Bernal turned to running.
“It’s really just given me a way to ground myself and to let loose from the strain that sitting down all those hours can do to me,” she said. Running offers her a connection between mind and body, similar to her experience with music. “When I run, it’s mind over body. You have to tell your body that you’re not tired. You can keep running, and it’s the same thing when I sit down at the piano,” Bernal said.
Her journey in music has been a marathon itself, but running provides a new conduit to tranquility.
“It really does just change your perspective in life, and everything is just a little bit brighter,” Bernal said.
Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.