(Fellow Sehgahunda Lab Rat) Runner Jim Ochterski hopes to bring clean water to Tanzanians

Photo courtesy Annette Lein/Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

BY BENNETT J. LOUDON, ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE (MAY 28, 2011)

It seems like Jim Ochterski is always on the run.

You're lucky if you can reach him on his office phone or even cellphone without having to leave a message. As an agriculture economic development specialist for Cooperative Extension of Ontario County, he's often in meetings or working with clients.

He volunteers at Sonnenberg Gardens, and he operates a consulting business helping people maintain and improve their ponds. His hobbies include bird watching and home-brewing beer.

And for the past several months, he's really been on the run, training for the Sehgahunda Trail Marathon that he's planning to participate in today on woodland trails in Letchworth State Park.

Ochterski ran his first marathon last year, the Rochester Marathon.

"It got me itching to maybe push myself a little harder," he said.

While the Rochester Marathon is a relatively flat 26.2-mile course on asphalt, the Sehgahunda is a rugged 26.3-mile hilly course through muddy ravines and over rocks and tree roots.

Ochterski expects he'll need about six hours to complete it.

"The training isn't a lot of fun, and you need something to really push you," he said.

So, for motivation, he decided to use the run to raise money for a water project for residents of northern Tanzania.

"We take water for granted — water fountains, washing our car, going swimming — clean water, as much as we want, any time we want," he said.

But the people he's trying to help have to walk long distances to fetch water from a river. It's usually not clean, which leads to illness. And the children are needed for the effort, which keeps them from attending school.

"I want to help them with a well so they can go to school and develop their economy. The limiting factor is access to water," Ochterski said

"The first facility that's going to get plumbing is going to be a school," he said.

Ochterski's goal is to raise $1,000 through sponsors' pledges.

When he's not working or running, you might find Ochterski making his own ale or stout.

He makes six to 10 batches of about 50 bottles each year. Each session takes about five hours, plus two to four weeks of fermentation.

"It's a hobby I enjoy a lot. I've gotten better and better and my beer is getting better and better," said Ochterski, who has been brewing about eight years.

"It's a little bit of biology and chemistry and diligence," he said.

Ochterski, 42, lives in Farmington with his wife, Amy, a registered nurse, and their two cats, Meeker and T.J. Flanders.

He grew up in West Seneca, Erie County, and earned a bachelor's degree in biology in 1991 at the University of Rochester. He earned a master's degree in rural landscape planning in 1996 at the University of Michigan.

Ochterski's first job was with the 4-H youth program at Monroe County Cooperative Extension. In 2000, he moved to a job in the Schuyler County Cooperative Extension, and in 2007, he moved to his job in Canandaigua.