Her first major international event was the 1978 Commonwealth Games and she ran in the 1500 metres (being eliminated in the heats) and the 3000 metres (coming ninth in the final). Her next major outing came at the 1979 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, where she led the Canadian women's team with a 13th-place finish. She was selected for the 1980 Moscow Olympics, but a Canadian boycott of the event meant she did not compete. The 1981 World Cross Country was held over a shorter distance and she gave a better performance, placing eighth and leading her national team to fifth in the rankings. She won her first national title at the Canadian Track and Field Championships that year, winning the 1500 m race, and would go on to take five straight titles up to 1985. She also began competing on the international circuit and ran a best of 4:33.02 minutes for the mile run at the DN Galan in Sweden, taking third place.