Rubuta ci gaba ga wannan sakin layi - A farkon shekarun 1970, Walker ta halarci Jami'ar Oregon inda ta karɓi koyarwa daga almara Steve Prefontaine. Bayan mutuwar Prefontaine, ta zauna a gidansa tare da budurwarsa da 'yar'uwarsa. Walker ta wakilci Amurka a gasar tsere ta kasa da kasa ta 1972, inda ta sanya 9th lashe azurfa tare da kungiyar Amurka, da kuma 1973 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
, wanda ya lashe tagulla na tawagar tare da matsayi na 30 na mutum, kuma ya kasance All-American a cikin ƙasa a 1973. Daga 1972 zuwa 1978, ta lashe gasar ruwa ta mata ta Oregon Road Runners Club, wasan biathlon wanda ya kunshi gudu da iyo, sau shida a jere. A shekara ta 1981, Walker ta koma kwaleji a Jami'ar Jihar Oregon inda Joe Fulton ya horar da ita a takaice. A wajen ta kafa tarihin makaranta a tseren mil 5,000 da kuma mil 10,000. Walker kuma ya kasance zakaran wasan triathlon na jihar Oregon a 1984, 1986, da 1987. Raunin da ya faru da kuma yanayin horo na horo na kasa ya hana ta daga gudanar da wani marathon. Don nasarorin da ta samu, an shigar da Walker a cikin Portland Interscholastic League's Hall of Fame a shekara ta 2005.