diff --git a/nanobot/cron/service.py b/nanobot/cron/service.py
index f3b04eae9..86f77f34a 100644
--- a/nanobot/cron/service.py
+++ b/nanobot/cron/service.py
@@ -163,9 +163,13 @@ class CronService:
         self._store: CronStore | None = None
         self._timer_task: asyncio.Task[None] | None = None
         self._running = False
-        self._timer_active = False
+        self._active_executions = 0
         self.max_sleep_ms = max_sleep_ms
 
+    def _should_persist_store(self) -> bool:
+        """Return whether this instance currently owns the live store."""
+        return self._running or self._active_executions > 0
+
     def _is_unbound_agent_job(self, job: CronJob) -> bool:
         return job.payload.kind == "agent_turn" and not is_bound_cron_job(job)
 
@@ -278,23 +282,24 @@ class CronService:
                         logger.exception("load action line error")
                         continue
             self._store.jobs = list(jobs_map.values())  # pyright: ignore[reportOptionalMemberAccess]
-            if self._running and changed:
+            if self._should_persist_store() and changed:
                 self._action_path.write_text("", encoding="utf-8")
                 self._save_store()
         return
 
-    def _load_store(self) -> CronStore | None:
+    def _load_store(self, *, reload_during_execution: bool = False) -> CronStore | None:
         """Load jobs from disk. Reloads automatically if file was modified externally.
         - Reload every time because it needs to merge operations on the jobs object from other instances.
-        - During _on_timer execution, return the existing store to prevent concurrent
+        - During job execution, return the existing store to prevent concurrent
           _load_store calls (e.g. from list_jobs polling) from replacing it mid-execution.
+          The first execution explicitly reloads once when it takes ownership.
         - When the on-disk store exists but is unreadable: keep using the
           previous in-memory ``self._store`` if we already have one (so a
           transient corruption does not drop live jobs); only the very first
           load (during ``start``) can return ``None`` to signal an unrecoverable
           state to the caller.
         """
-        if self._timer_active and self._store:
+        if self._active_executions > 0 and self._store and not reload_during_execution:
             return self._store
         loaded = self._load_jobs()
         if loaded is None:
@@ -307,12 +312,12 @@ class CronService:
         jobs, version = loaded
         self._store = CronStore(version=version, jobs=jobs)
         self._merge_action()
-        if self._enforce_store_agent_bindings() and self._running:
+        if self._enforce_store_agent_bindings() and self._should_persist_store():
             self._save_store()
 
         return self._store
 
-    def _require_store(self) -> CronStore:
+    def _require_store(self, *, reload_during_execution: bool = False) -> CronStore:
         """Return a usable store or raise a clear error.
 
         ``_load_store`` deliberately returns ``None`` when the first load sees
@@ -322,7 +327,7 @@ class CronService:
         ``AttributeError`` and, more importantly, prevents follow-up saves from
         treating a corrupt store as an empty one.
         """
-        store = self._load_store()
+        store = self._load_store(reload_during_execution=reload_during_execution)
         if store is None:
             raise RuntimeError(
                 f"cron store at {self.store_path} could not be loaded and was preserved "
@@ -504,19 +509,20 @@ class CronService:
 
     async def _on_timer(self) -> None:
         """Handle timer tick - run due jobs."""
-        self._load_store()
-        # If a hot reload found a corrupt store on disk, ``self._store`` may
-        # still hold the previous, known-good in-memory snapshot.  Keep using
-        # it rather than crashing the timer or wiping live jobs.
-        if not self._store:
-            self._arm_timer()
-            return
-
-        self._timer_active = True
+        reload_store = self._active_executions == 0
+        self._active_executions += 1
         try:
+            store = self._load_store(reload_during_execution=reload_store)
+            # If a hot reload found a corrupt store on disk, ``self._store`` may
+            # still hold the previous, known-good in-memory snapshot.  Keep using
+            # it rather than crashing the timer or wiping live jobs.
+            if store is None:
+                self._arm_timer()
+                return
+
             now = _now_ms()
             due_jobs = [
-                j for j in self._store.jobs
+                j for j in store.jobs
                 if j.enabled and j.state.next_run_at_ms and now >= j.state.next_run_at_ms
             ]
 
@@ -525,7 +531,7 @@ class CronService:
 
             self._save_store()
         finally:
-            self._timer_active = False
+            self._active_executions -= 1
         self._arm_timer()
 
     async def _execute_job(self, job: CronJob) -> None:
@@ -657,7 +663,7 @@ class CronService:
         )
         _normalize_agent_turn_job(job)
         self._enforce_agent_binding(job)
-        if self._running:
+        if self._should_persist_store():
             store = self._require_store()
             store.jobs.append(job)
             self._save_store()
@@ -697,7 +703,7 @@ class CronService:
         removed = len(store.jobs) < before
 
         if removed:
-            if self._running:
+            if self._should_persist_store():
                 self._save_store()
                 self._arm_timer()
             else:
@@ -719,7 +725,7 @@ class CronService:
                     job.state.next_run_at_ms = _compute_next_run(job.schedule, _now_ms())
                 else:
                     job.state.next_run_at_ms = None
-                if self._running:
+                if self._should_persist_store():
                     self._save_store()
                     self._arm_timer()
                 else:
@@ -775,7 +781,7 @@ class CronService:
         else:
             job.state.next_run_at_ms = None
 
-        if self._running:
+        if self._should_persist_store():
             self._save_store()
             self._arm_timer()
         else:
@@ -786,10 +792,10 @@ class CronService:
 
     async def run_job(self, job_id: str, force: bool = False) -> bool:
         """Manually run a job without disturbing the service's running state."""
-        was_running = self._running
-        self._running = True
+        reload_store = self._active_executions == 0
+        self._active_executions += 1
         try:
-            store = self._require_store()
+            store = self._require_store(reload_during_execution=reload_store)
             for job in store.jobs:
                 if job.id == job_id:
                     if self._is_unbound_agent_job(job):
@@ -803,8 +809,8 @@ class CronService:
                     return True
             return False
         finally:
-            self._running = was_running
-            if was_running:
+            self._active_executions -= 1
+            if self._running and self._active_executions == 0:
                 self._arm_timer()
 
     def get_job(self, job_id: str) -> CronJob | None:
diff --git a/tests/cron/test_cron_service.py b/tests/cron/test_cron_service.py
index 36079e0ae..7623fdd41 100644
--- a/tests/cron/test_cron_service.py
+++ b/tests/cron/test_cron_service.py
@@ -600,6 +600,83 @@ async def test_run_job_preserves_running_service_state(tmp_path) -> None:
     service.stop()
 
 
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_manual_run_persists_completion_when_callback_lists_jobs(tmp_path) -> None:
+    store_path = tmp_path / "cron" / "jobs.json"
+
+    async def on_job(_job) -> None:
+        service.list_jobs(include_disabled=True)
+        await asyncio.sleep(0)
+
+    service = CronService(store_path, on_job=on_job)
+    job = service.add_job(
+        name="manual",
+        schedule=CronSchedule(kind="every", every_ms=60_000),
+        message="hello",
+        **_bound_chat(),
+    )
+
+    assert await service.run_job(job.id) is True
+
+    state = json.loads(store_path.read_text())["jobs"][0]["state"]
+    assert state["lastStatus"] == "ok"
+    assert state["lastError"] is None
+    assert len(state["runHistory"]) == 1
+    assert state["runHistory"][0]["status"] == "ok"
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_overlapping_manual_runs_preserve_stopped_service_state(tmp_path) -> None:
+    store_path = tmp_path / "cron" / "jobs.json"
+    entered = [asyncio.Event(), asyncio.Event()]
+    release = [asyncio.Event(), asyncio.Event()]
+    call_count = 0
+
+    async def on_job(_job) -> None:
+        nonlocal call_count
+        call_index = call_count
+        call_count += 1
+        entered[call_index].set()
+        await release[call_index].wait()
+
+    service = CronService(store_path, on_job=on_job)
+    jobs = [
+        service.add_job(
+            name=f"manual-{index}",
+            schedule=CronSchedule(kind="every", every_ms=60_000),
+            message="hello",
+            **_bound_chat(str(index)),
+        )
+        for index in range(2)
+    ]
+
+    first = asyncio.create_task(service.run_job(jobs[0].id))
+    await entered[0].wait()
+    second = asyncio.create_task(service.run_job(jobs[1].id))
+    try:
+        await entered[1].wait()
+        release[0].set()
+        assert await first is True
+        assert service._running is False
+
+        release[1].set()
+        assert await second is True
+        assert service._running is False
+        assert service._timer_task is None
+
+        states = {
+            item["name"]: item["state"]
+            for item in json.loads(store_path.read_text())["jobs"]
+        }
+        assert states["manual-0"]["lastStatus"] == "ok"
+        assert states["manual-1"]["lastStatus"] == "ok"
+    finally:
+        release[0].set()
+        release[1].set()
+        await asyncio.gather(first, second, return_exceptions=True)
+        service.stop()
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_running_service_honors_external_disable(tmp_path) -> None:
     store_path = tmp_path / "cron" / "jobs.json"