diff --git a/run.sh b/run.sh
index 7e4d0af09..09a60f2c8 100755
--- a/run.sh
+++ b/run.sh
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ FOLLOW=0
 LOG_RETENTION=20
 ADMIN_TOKEN=""
 SKIP_HEALTH=0
-HEALTH_TIMEOUT_SEC=60
+HEALTH_TIMEOUT_SEC=180
 HEALTH_GRACE_SEC=45
 BACKUP_DRY_RUN=0
 BACKUP_TAG="manual"
@@ -3511,7 +3511,7 @@ Von Launcher Help
         -LogRetention <n>
         -AdminToken <token>
         -SkipHealth
-        -HealthTimeoutSec <n>
+        -HealthTimeoutSec <n>  Initial health wait in seconds (default 180)
         -HealthGraceSec <n>
         -ReadyLogPatterns <p>
         -DisableLogReady
diff --git a/tests/test_run_sh_start_behaviour.py b/tests/test_run_sh_start_behaviour.py
index a50d315bd..aae3b9b49 100644
--- a/tests/test_run_sh_start_behaviour.py
+++ b/tests/test_run_sh_start_behaviour.py
@@ -40,6 +40,19 @@ def shlex_quote(value: str) -> str:
     return "'" + value.replace("'", "'\"'\"'") + "'"
 
 
+def test_run_sh_default_health_timeout_covers_slow_startup() -> None:
+    payload = _run_bash_probe(
+        r"""
+python3 - <<PY
+import json
+print(json.dumps({"health_timeout_seconds": int("$HEALTH_TIMEOUT_SEC")}))
+PY
+"""
+    )
+
+    assert payload == {"health_timeout_seconds": 180}
+
+
 def _prepare_backup_launcher(
     tmp_path: Path,
     *,