<p>marmadillo: I am not a coach, but have done a fair bit of running. My 2c would be:</p>
<p>You need to build endurance before you can work on speed. If you are not a seasoned runner start a running program where you run on alternate days (you need a rest day to recover and prevent injuries). Remember to warm up, cool down and stretch. An easy way to build endurance is to add 5 minutes to your run every second run until you are running the distance you need. My sons MALO suggests building up to 5 miles before Beast. Once you have a good base (cardiovascular fitness and endurance), you can work on your speed. You can use one session a week to do a time trial (see how fast you can do your 2 mile or 1 mile run). If you dont like formal interval work (sprints), learn to do fartlek; ie play with speed on your normal endurance runs, up the tempo on certain sections of your run. You do need to add speedwork to endurance runs if you want to decrease your 2 mile time.
Having a partner is really important, it is hard to do it alone as hornetguy says, having partner that is better than you is even better.</p>