Hunter finished in the top ten at both the 1989 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Stavanger and the 1989 World 15km Road Race Championships in Rio de Janeiro, placing seventh and sixth respectively. That year, she also won the AAAs National title at 10,000 metres, to earn Commonwealth selection for England. At the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland in January, she won the silver medal behind Scotland's Liz McColgan. Later that year, she finished eighth in the 10,000 metres final at the European Championships in Split.