Menlo School's Robert Miranda, who is coming off a sophomore season in which he had a podium finish at state in cross country and took fourth in the 3200 at CCS, has been preparing for his next run for months.

Miranda will run Sunday's Summer Scamper at Stanford to benefit Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.

He has been raising funds for months to help the hospital, this year specifically the launch of a music therapy program which his 12-year-old sister loves.

"I run to support my sister Isabel, who has epilepsy and is cognitively disabled," Miranda said. "She is a patient at Packard Children's and the hospital does so much for her."

Isabel has been participating in a music-therapy run at a local school for three years.

"It's one of the highlights of her week," Miranda said. "I believe in this program because my sister has been the beneficiary of music therapy and I know first hand the benefits she has received from the treatment."

She goes through four to five therapy sessions weekly, ranging from physical to occupational to speech - all toward developing motor skills and speaking.

"Music therapy is very different in that its goal is to get the patient to connect with the music making it both enjoyable, stimulating but also engaging and working on the patient expressing herself or himself," Miranda said. "In Isabel's case, she has a very loud personality and doesn't shy from speaking up, and she loves music.

"For her, music therapy gives her an opportunity to do something she loves while spending time with some of her friends in the class, and also working on several key developmental area, specifically in her case sticking with a song all the way through rather than switching between tasks without completion, and self control in not touching the guitar, or giving all of the other students personal space."

Last year, Miranda was the second overall finisher in the 5K. He has reached 83 percent of his $5,000 goal.

After the Summer Scamper, Robert is headed to the Junior Olympics 1,500 and 3,200 trials in Sacramento where he will vie for bid to nationals.

To learn more about the Summer Scamper, visit their website or Robert Miranda's fund-raising page.