Running a mile

Though I've lost weight and my fitness has improved over the last few years, running remains a problem. I'll do the run/walk thing for a while, then my knees start to rebel a little and it's back to the eliptical machine.
I'm kind of stubborn about wanting to run, however. I'd like to be able to play sports that involve running and on days when the weather is agreeable, I'd rather be outside running than in a gym on an eliptical machine. I also feel that nobody can really call themselves fit unless they can run at least a mile without stopping.
So that's my goal.
If I really tried, I guess I could probably do it right now, but I'd be so sore I couldn't do anything for a few days. The longest I've run nonstop in the last year is five minutes (not sure how far) in a boot camp class at my gym. I did that three times during the course of an hour-long class.
On New Year's Eve, there's a 1-mile road race about an hour's drive from me. It's on a flat, downhill course and it draws around 700 or so runners of all abilities. I was figuring I'd start training for that. My goal is just to run the whole thing without walking. I don't care about time, just as long as I don't walk.
For those of you who run, any ideas on how to build up to that goal?

 

I'd find a track and start establishing a pace. Start with one lap and build from there.

 

Is there a track by you? Most outdoor tracks are a quarter-mile round. If the race is that far away, work up to it by running at the track everyday and increasing your distance every week. So run one lap one week, two laps in week two, etc.

You're probably closer than you think to the goal. Even if you're plodding along, I bet you ran a half-mile during those five-minute jogs at the gym.

Edit: What DyePack said.

 

Start with the 5-minute run about three times over the course of a week.

Next week, bump it up to 6 and so on and so on.

The first couple of weeks will be the hardest because of the soreness, but if you get past that and keep up a short but steady improvement each week, you should be up to about 10 minutes (probably about a mile) by New Year's.

Of course, not being a runner you probably should have started sooner. But you'd be surprised how far you can run if you put your mind to it. The first couple of months I started running, about five years ago, I thought 10 minutes was pretty good. Now, if I don't run 2-3 miles each workout I feel like I was lazy. And I don't have anything resembling a runner's body. Just like any course of exercise, you just have to stick with it for a period of time and keep setting goals.

 

Ditto.

Small victories are the key.