diff --git a/checkpoint/handle.go b/checkpoint/handle.go
index 6a59f3d..db2d8ba 100644
--- a/checkpoint/handle.go
+++ b/checkpoint/handle.go
@@ -46,15 +46,27 @@ func (h *handle) Save(ctx context.Context, st run.RunCheckpointState) error {
 		h.mu.Unlock()
 		return nil // throttled — a more recent snapshot will land shortly
 	}
-	h.lastSave = now
 	h.mu.Unlock()
 
-	return h.store.Save(ctx, RunCheckpoint{
+	// Advance the throttle clock only AFTER a successful persist. If the store
+	// write fails, lastSave stays put so the next Save isn't throttled away —
+	// otherwise a transient store error would silently drop the snapshot the
+	// caller believes was saved. (A run drives one Save goroutine, so the brief
+	// unguarded window here can't double-write.)
+	if err := h.store.Save(ctx, RunCheckpoint{
 		Meta:      h.meta,
 		Messages:  st.Messages,
 		Iteration: st.Iteration,
 		UpdatedAt: now,
-	})
+	}); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	h.mu.Lock()
+	if now.After(h.lastSave) {
+		h.lastSave = now
+	}
+	h.mu.Unlock()
+	return nil
 }
 
 func (h *handle) Complete(ctx context.Context) error { return h.store.Delete(ctx, h.meta.RunID) }
diff --git a/critic/critic.go b/critic/critic.go
index f8dbcf8..ceb5445 100644
--- a/critic/critic.go
+++ b/critic/critic.go
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ package critic
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"log/slog"
 	"sync"
 	"time"
 
@@ -47,25 +48,34 @@ type Escalator interface {
 	OnSoftTimeout(ctx context.Context, info run.RunInfo, p Progress) Decision
 }
 
-// ExtendOnce is the default Escalator: the first time a run stalls it extends
-// the deadline by By (giving a slow-but-healthy run room), then takes no
-// further action — so a genuinely hung run is later killed by the hard
-// backstop. A nil/zero By falls back to one soft-timeout's worth.
+// ExtendOnce is the default Escalator: the first time a given run stalls it
+// extends that run's deadline by By (giving a slow-but-healthy run room), then
+// takes no further action for it — so a genuinely hung run is later killed by
+// the hard backstop. A nil/zero By falls back to one soft-timeout's worth.
+//
+// The one-shot is keyed PER RUN (by RunInfo.RunID): a single System shares one
+// ExtendOnce across every run it monitors, so a global flag would let only the
+// first run to stall ever get its extension. The fired set grows with the
+// number of distinct runs that stall — fine for a process's run volume; a host
+// running unboundedly long can construct a fresh System periodically.
 type ExtendOnce struct {
 	By time.Duration
 
 	mu    sync.Mutex
-	fired bool
+	fired map[string]bool // run ids that have already had their one extension
 }
 
 // OnSoftTimeout implements Escalator.
-func (e *ExtendOnce) OnSoftTimeout(_ context.Context, _ run.RunInfo, p Progress) Decision {
+func (e *ExtendOnce) OnSoftTimeout(_ context.Context, info run.RunInfo, p Progress) Decision {
 	e.mu.Lock()
 	defer e.mu.Unlock()
-	if e.fired {
+	if e.fired[info.RunID] {
 		return Decision{}
 	}
-	e.fired = true
+	if e.fired == nil {
+		e.fired = map[string]bool{}
+	}
+	e.fired[info.RunID] = true
 	by := e.By
 	if by <= 0 {
 		by = p.Idle // ~one soft timeout
@@ -80,6 +90,14 @@ type System struct {
 	backstopMul   float64 // hard deadline = softTimeout * backstopMul from start
 	checkInterval time.Duration
 	now           func() time.Time
+	logger        *slog.Logger
+}
+
+func (s *System) log() *slog.Logger {
+	if s.logger != nil {
+		return s.logger
+	}
+	return slog.Default()
 }
 
 // New builds a run.Critic. esc is the policy (nil → ExtendOnce). backstopMul is
@@ -138,6 +156,7 @@ type handle struct {
 	steer        []llm.Message
 	iterations   int
 	lastTool     string
+	killed       bool // sticky: once an Escalator kills, no later decision un-kills it
 	stopped      bool
 	stopCh       chan struct{}
 }
@@ -185,6 +204,14 @@ func (h *handle) Stop() {
 // watch fires the Escalator once per idle period the run crosses its soft
 // timeout, and applies the returned Decision.
 func (h *handle) watch(ctx context.Context, interval time.Duration) {
+	// A misbehaving Escalator that panics must not silently kill the watch
+	// goroutine (which would leave the run unmonitored for its lifetime). Log
+	// and exit cleanly — the run falls back to the deadline already set.
+	defer func() {
+		if r := recover(); r != nil {
+			h.sys.log().Error("critic watch panicked; run is now unmonitored", "run", h.info.RunID, "panic", r)
+		}
+	}()
 	t := time.NewTicker(interval)
 	defer t.Stop()
 	for {
@@ -201,6 +228,12 @@ func (h *handle) watch(ctx context.Context, interval time.Duration) {
 
 func (h *handle) tick(ctx context.Context) {
 	h.mu.Lock()
+	// Kill is sticky: once an Escalator has killed this run, no later tick (and
+	// no later Decision) un-collapses the deadline.
+	if h.killed {
+		h.mu.Unlock()
+		return
+	}
 	idle := h.now().Sub(h.lastActivity)
 	// Only escalate once per idle period: skip if we already escalated for this
 	// exact lastActivity (a fresh step/tool updates lastActivity and re-arms).
@@ -216,13 +249,18 @@ func (h *handle) tick(ctx context.Context) {
 
 	h.mu.Lock()
 	defer h.mu.Unlock()
+	if h.killed { // a concurrent tick may have killed while OnSoftTimeout ran
+		return
+	}
+	if d.Kill {
+		h.killed = true
+		h.deadline = h.now() // immediate hard deadline → executor cancels
+		return               // ignore any Nudge/ExtendBy paired with a Kill
+	}
 	if len(d.Nudge) > 0 {
 		h.steer = append(h.steer, d.Nudge...)
 	}
 	if d.ExtendBy > 0 {
 		h.deadline = h.deadline.Add(d.ExtendBy)
 	}
-	if d.Kill {
-		h.deadline = h.now() // immediate hard deadline → executor cancels
-	}
 }
diff --git a/critic/critic_test.go b/critic/critic_test.go
index 645e5c0..e9b4b2a 100644
--- a/critic/critic_test.go
+++ b/critic/critic_test.go
@@ -77,13 +77,18 @@ func TestKillCollapsesDeadline(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestExtendOnceOnlyFiresOnce(t *testing.T) {
 	e := &ExtendOnce{By: time.Minute}
-	d1 := e.OnSoftTimeout(context.Background(), run.RunInfo{}, Progress{})
-	d2 := e.OnSoftTimeout(context.Background(), run.RunInfo{}, Progress{})
+	// Same run id: only the first call extends.
+	d1 := e.OnSoftTimeout(context.Background(), run.RunInfo{RunID: "r1"}, Progress{})
+	d2 := e.OnSoftTimeout(context.Background(), run.RunInfo{RunID: "r1"}, Progress{})
 	if d1.ExtendBy != time.Minute {
 		t.Errorf("first decision should extend, got %+v", d1)
 	}
 	if d2.ExtendBy != 0 || d2.Kill {
-		t.Errorf("second decision should be a no-op, got %+v", d2)
+		t.Errorf("second call for the same run should be a no-op, got %+v", d2)
+	}
+	// A DIFFERENT run still gets its own one extension (per-run, not global).
+	if d3 := e.OnSoftTimeout(context.Background(), run.RunInfo{RunID: "r2"}, Progress{}); d3.ExtendBy != time.Minute {
+		t.Errorf("a different run should get its own extension, got %+v", d3)
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/schedule/runner.go b/schedule/runner.go
index 2a7d8b4..c21c94e 100644
--- a/schedule/runner.go
+++ b/schedule/runner.go
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ package schedule
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"errors"
 	"log/slog"
 	"time"
 )
@@ -58,31 +59,50 @@ func (r *Runner) log() *slog.Logger {
 // bad job never stalls the others. Returns the error from Due (the only
 // pass-fatal step).
 func (r *Runner) Tick(ctx context.Context) error {
+	if err := r.validate(); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
 	now := r.now()
 	due, err := r.Due(ctx, now)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 	for _, j := range due {
-		if err := r.Run(ctx, j.ID); err != nil {
-			r.log().Warn("scheduled job failed; will retry next tick", "job", j.ID, "error", err)
-			continue
-		}
+		// Compute the next fire BEFORE running. A permanently-unparseable cron
+		// then skips the job entirely (logged) rather than running it — an
+		// unstamped job stays due, so checking Next first avoids a hot-loop of
+		// real Run executions every tick.
 		next, err := r.Next(j.Cron, now)
 		if err != nil {
-			r.log().Warn("scheduled job has an unparseable cron; not rescheduling", "job", j.ID, "cron", j.Cron, "error", err)
+			r.log().Warn("scheduled job has an unparseable cron; skipping (not run, not rescheduled)", "job", j.ID, "cron", j.Cron, "error", err)
 			continue
 		}
-		if err := r.Mark(ctx, j.ID, now, next); err != nil {
-			r.log().Warn("failed to stamp scheduled job's next run", "job", j.ID, "error", err)
+		if err := r.Run(ctx, j.ID); err != nil {
+			r.log().Warn("scheduled job failed; stays due, will retry next tick", "job", j.ID, "error", err)
+			continue
 		}
+		// A Mark failure leaves the job due, so it re-runs next tick — Run must
+		// be idempotent (there is no atomic run+stamp across two host callbacks).
+		if err := r.Mark(ctx, j.ID, now, next); err != nil {
+			r.log().Warn("failed to stamp next run; job may re-execute next tick (Run must be idempotent)", "job", j.ID, "error", err)
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// validate reports a misconfigured Runner (a required callback left nil) as a
+// clear error rather than a nil-deref panic on first tick.
+func (r *Runner) validate() error {
+	if r.Due == nil || r.Run == nil || r.Mark == nil || r.Next == nil {
+		return errors.New("schedule: Runner requires non-nil Due, Run, Mark, and Next")
 	}
 	return nil
 }
 
 // Loop ticks every Interval until ctx is cancelled. A Tick error (the Due
 // lister failing) is logged and the loop continues — a transient store hiccup
-// shouldn't kill the scheduler.
+// shouldn't kill the scheduler — and a panic from any host callback is
+// recovered so one bad tick can't silently kill the scheduler goroutine.
 func (r *Runner) Loop(ctx context.Context) {
 	interval := r.Interval
 	if interval <= 0 {
@@ -95,9 +115,18 @@ func (r *Runner) Loop(ctx context.Context) {
 		case <-ctx.Done():
 			return
 		case <-t.C:
-			if err := r.Tick(ctx); err != nil {
-				r.log().Warn("schedule tick failed", "error", err)
-			}
+			r.safeTick(ctx)
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+func (r *Runner) safeTick(ctx context.Context) {
+	defer func() {
+		if rec := recover(); rec != nil {
+			r.log().Error("schedule tick panicked; scheduler continues", "panic", rec)
+		}
+	}()
+	if err := r.Tick(ctx); err != nil {
+		r.log().Warn("schedule tick failed", "error", err)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/schedule/runner_test.go b/schedule/runner_test.go
index bbde4fc..3d67a83 100644
--- a/schedule/runner_test.go
+++ b/schedule/runner_test.go
@@ -30,9 +30,10 @@ func TestTickRunsDueAndStampsNext(t *testing.T) {
 	if err := r.Tick(ctx); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	// Both ran; only the parseable one got a next stamp.
-	if len(ran) != 2 {
-		t.Errorf("ran = %v, want both", ran)
+	// Next is checked first, so the bad-cron job is skipped BEFORE Run — only
+	// the parseable job runs and gets stamped (no hot-loop of a bad-cron Run).
+	if len(ran) != 1 || ran[0] != "a" {
+		t.Errorf("ran = %v, want only [a] (bad-cron b skipped before Run)", ran)
 	}
 	if marked["a"] != now.Add(time.Hour) {
 		t.Errorf("a next = %v, want +1h", marked["a"])
@@ -75,8 +76,36 @@ func TestTickRunFailureDoesNotStampOrStall(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestTickDueErrorIsFatalToPass(t *testing.T) {
-	r := &Runner{Due: func(context.Context, time.Time) ([]Due, error) { return nil, errors.New("store down") }}
+	r := &Runner{
+		Due:  func(context.Context, time.Time) ([]Due, error) { return nil, errors.New("store down") },
+		Run:  func(context.Context, string) error { return nil },
+		Mark: func(context.Context, string, time.Time, time.Time) error { return nil },
+		Next: func(string, time.Time) (time.Time, error) { return time.Now(), nil },
+	}
 	if err := r.Tick(context.Background()); err == nil {
 		t.Error("Tick should surface the Due lister error")
 	}
 }
+
+func TestUnparseableCronSkipsRunEntirely(t *testing.T) {
+	var ran []string
+	r := &Runner{
+		Due:  func(context.Context, time.Time) ([]Due, error) { return []Due{{ID: "z", Cron: "bad"}}, nil },
+		Run:  func(_ context.Context, id string) error { ran = append(ran, id); return nil },
+		Mark: func(context.Context, string, time.Time, time.Time) error { return nil },
+		Next: func(string, time.Time) (time.Time, error) { return time.Time{}, errors.New("bad cron") },
+	}
+	if err := r.Tick(context.Background()); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if len(ran) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("a job with an unparseable cron must NOT be run (avoids hot-loop), ran=%v", ran)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestValidateRejectsNilCallbacks(t *testing.T) {
+	r := &Runner{Due: func(context.Context, time.Time) ([]Due, error) { return nil, nil }} // missing Run/Mark/Next
+	if err := r.Tick(context.Background()); err == nil {
+		t.Error("Tick should return a validation error for a partially-wired Runner, not panic")
+	}
+}