As you might expect from someone who is pretty proficient at triathlon, Tara Truman is something of an all-rounder.

But it’s not just as a competitor that she’s an all-rounder – she obviously swims, cycles and runs – she’s also taken on a number of roles behind the scenes as well.

The most recent is that of chairman of the triathlon section at Stroud and District Athletic Club – SADAC Tri Team – a section that currently has some 30 members.

And her CV would suggest that she’s very well suited for the role because in 2017 she founded the now flourishing triathlon section at Dursley Running Club – DRC Tri Team – a section that is now 80-strong.

“I absolutely love triathlon,” said Tara, who has competed internationally at age group level. “I love the variety it offers, if you don’t fancy going for a run you can go for a swim.”

Tara’s love for all things triathlon started in 2008 when the now 50-year-old went to Blenheim Palace to watch her brother-in-law Stephen Ratcliffe take part in an event.

“I thought, ‘If he can do it, I can do it’,” she said. “I bought myself a second-hand mountain bike – it had broken handlebars! – I started to run and I went to the pool, I taught myself front crawl by watching YouTube!”

She also gave herself a deadline of three months to compete in her first triathlon; one which she met, of course.

So how did she get on?

“It was the Derby Triathlon in 2008,” she said. “I did alright, not brilliant, but I was hooked.”

So much so that she did 10 triathlons the following year – “I was well and truly hooked,” she laughed.

She was getting better too. She bought herself a second-hand road bike, joined a triathlon club in Nottingham where she was living at the time and started winning age groups races.

Born in Dursley and educated at Rednock School, she moved back to her home town in 2012 after being away for some 20 years, but a change in location did nothing to diminish her fascination with triathlon.

“I was mainly doing sprint triathlons,” she said, “but in 2014 I did my first Ironman.

“It was in Nice at the end of June – it was freezing! We had to cycle 50 miles up and down a mountain, the countryside was stunning but people were pulling out because they were so cold.

“Then when we got back to the coast for the run it was boiling hot. We had to run from Nice to the airport and back four times.

“You could see the airport in the distance, it was just over three miles away but it seemed like a million miles!”

For those that don’t know, an Ironman consists of a 3.8k swim, 112-mile cycle ride and a marathon, something which takes some doing.

Tara completed in around 14 hours, 30 minutes, and since then she has competed in five more Ironman events, including Ironman Wales three times which she says, with some understatement, is “quite a tough course”.

She’s also done nine half Ironman triathlons, several 5k swims and a marathon 10k swim in Lake Windermere, which is all extremely impressive.

So which is her favourite discipline?

“Cycling is probably my strongest, that’s where I’ve made the biggest improvement,” she said. “Swimming I get by but my running is hit and miss, I’m inconsistent.

“The top triathletes are all good at everything, but that’s why I like triathlon, at my level you don’t have to be good at everything.”

Tara’s level is still pretty decent though because she’s competed for Great Britain at age group level in Lisbon in the sprint triathlon and also at middle distance in Copenhagen.

She also qualified for the age group world championships at long distance, although she decided not to take up her place.

She will be going to Munich in August, though, to compete for Great Britain in the age group sprint triathlon and that’s something that she’s obviously very excited about, even though it has only become her main focus in the last couple of months.

“I was trying to set a PB in the marathon,” she explained. “I ran three hours, 45 in Manchester in April which I’m really happy about.

“I worked really hard, I put a lot of effort in.”

She’s putting a lot of effort into her new role at Stroud AC as well, of course, and she certainly put in a lot of effort when she was at Dursley Running Club, who she joined in 2015.

She’s understandably very proud of the triathlon section at the club – “It’s brilliant,” she said – and is still a second claim member at Dursley.

She left to join Stroud a year ago because she moved to Stroud and she is keen to have the same success at her new club as she enjoyed at Dursley.

“The triathlon section is still quite small,” she said, “but I’m quite eager to grow it quickly. The club are very supportive.”

She’s very supportive of the club too because she’s also on the club committee. Throw in the fact that she trains eight to 10 hours a week and works full time as a sales manager, it’s a wonder that there’s enough days in the week for her to get everything done.

But as she proved with that first triathlon in Derby, that first Ironman in Nice and founding the triathlon section at Dursley Running Club, Tara Truman is someone who sets a target and achieves it.

The future looks bright for SADAC Tri Team, anyone wanting further information should visit triteam@stroudac.co.uk