She ran for her country at the Summer Olympics in 2008 and 2012 and ranked in the top ten in the marathon at World Championships in Athletics in 2009 and 2011.

[10] Her first race of 2010 was the Osaka Ladies Marathon and she improved her time to 2:25:45, finishing as runner-up to Amane Gobena.

[11] Barros underperformed in the event at the 2010 European Athletics Championships as she was ten minutes off her best time and had to settle for eighth place.

[6] She ran in the Great North Run in September 2010 and took third place with a time of 1:09:09, behind compatriot Ana Dulce Félix.

[12] The 2010 European Cross Country Championships were held on home turf in Albufeira and Barros ran for the hosts, taking sixth place overall and helping the Portuguese women to the team title, alongside race winner Jessica Augusto.