Runyon made her feature-film debut in the slasher film To All a Goodnight (1980), about a group of school girls stalked by a killer in a Santa Claus costume.

[3] She had a small part as a student being given an ESP test by Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters (1984), and starred in Up the Creek that same year, the latter of which she filmed over several weeks in Bend, Oregon.

She also appeared in Murder, She Wrote in the 1989 episode, "Seal of the Confessional" playing the character Kelly Barret alongside leading role Angela Lansbury.

In 1990 she played a supporting role in the World War II parody A Man Called Sarge, produced by Gene Corman (her father-in-law).

On March 9, 1991, Runyon married Todd Corman, a collegiate basketball coach with stints at Loyola Marymount, Albertson College, and Oregon State University; he also worked in film and television production during breaks between sports seasons.