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The programme that explains the present by exploring the past.

The Forum: 21/07/2012 GMT

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21/07/2012 GMT

BBC World Service - The Forum, 21/07/2012 GMT

Why some athletes, plants and stars keep going for much longer than others.

Long-distance runners, plants that live for thousands of years and small stars: what is the secret of their staying power?

Why is it that so many long distance runners are from Kenya? Is it genetics that leads to the high performance we can expect to see in the London Olympics? Or maybe the stamina of the world's best athletes is above all about their mental attitude, the ability to deliver excellence, no matter what?

Just some of the aspects of endurance we are exploring on the Forum this week with high-performance anthropologist Rasmus Ankersen. Also on the programme, award winning photographer Rachel Sussman takes us hunting for the longest living organisms on Earth. And endurance that dwarfs anything found on our planet: the mind boggling staying power of the stars in the sky. The UK's Public Astronomer Marek Kukula is our cosmic guide.

Illustration by Emily Kasriel: the race to endure for sports people, stars and other forms of life.

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21/07/2012 GMT

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