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NORTH ATTLEBORO - Age 70 is no time to start slowing down. Just ask kayaker Edward Earle.

The North Attleboro 70-year-old recently proved he's speeding up - after shaving three minutes off his prior time to win first place in his division in the 26th annual Run of the Charles in Boston.

Earle not only won first place among seniors in the six-mile recreational sea kayak division, he also bested the younger paddlers - 19 in all.

"I'm competing on a pretty high level - I'm racing against 40- and 50-year-olds and I'm kicking their butts," he said.

Earle's winning time for the race was 1 hour, 7 minutes and 14 seconds - meaning he averaged a speed of 5.5 mph over the race course, a loop that begins and ends at Herter Park on the Charles River in Brighton. Earle was determined to win the race this year after coming in second last year. He trained hard for the race, crediting the encouragement of Dawn Marie Angus, a fitness instructor at the "Answer is Fitness" gym in North Attleboro, for helping him prepare.

"Dawn was instrumental in preparing my body and mind for this year's competition with a very inventive approach to conditioning," he said.

It is not the first time he has won

Earle first competed in the Run of the Charles in 1992, when he came in first in the master's division for the six-mile recreational canoe race.

He switched from canoes to kayaks in 1994, and has racked up numerous wins in other races, including first place in 2002, 2003 and 2004 in the Lake Quinsigamond Race men's short touring kayak division, first place in 2005 in the Rhode Island State Championship Race for men's short touring kayaks and first place in 2007 in the Blackstone River Race for men's K1 whitewater division.