diff --git a/cmd/odek/redhunt_2026_10_17_runs_test.go b/cmd/odek/redhunt_2026_10_17_runs_test.go
index 23fd82a4..5cd8ef98 100644
--- a/cmd/odek/redhunt_2026_10_17_runs_test.go
+++ b/cmd/odek/redhunt_2026_10_17_runs_test.go
@@ -105,8 +105,10 @@ func TestRED_RunsFinishedRunPinsAgentAndSession(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Cleanup(resetServeRuns)
 
 	// One large prior turn in the session (well under the 32 MiB file cap).
+	// The heap check below is skipped under -short and -race, so only it
+	// needs the large payload; under -race a 6 MiB turn outlives the run wait.
 	payload := 6 << 20
-	if testing.Short() {
+	if testing.Short() || raceEnabled {
 		payload = 64 << 10
 	}
 	sess, err := env.store.Create([]session.Message{
@@ -129,7 +131,7 @@ func TestRED_RunsFinishedRunPinsAgentAndSession(t *testing.T) {
 	base := measure()
 
 	runs := 4
-	if testing.Short() {
+	if testing.Short() || raceEnabled {
 		runs = 1
 	}
 	var finished []*serveRun
diff --git a/internal/redact/redhunt_2026_10_12b_ops_test.go b/internal/redact/redhunt_2026_10_12b_ops_test.go
index 0139c855..4b7a823a 100644
--- a/internal/redact/redhunt_2026_10_12b_ops_test.go
+++ b/internal/redact/redhunt_2026_10_12b_ops_test.go
@@ -189,7 +189,8 @@ func TestRED_RedactCredentialNamesScaleLinearly(t *testing.T) {
 		if large > 9*small {
 			t.Errorf("%s: super-linear: 64KiB %v, 256KiB %v", name, small, large)
 		}
-		if !testing.Short() && ops12bTime(gen(1<<20)) > 10*time.Second {
+		// Wall-clock budget only without the race detector (5-10x slower).
+		if !raceEnabled && !testing.Short() && ops12bTime(gen(1<<20)) > 10*time.Second {
 			t.Errorf("%s: 1 MiB too slow", name)
 		}
 	}