diff --git a/run.py b/run.py
index 0435c8c..7f74b2a 100644
--- a/run.py
+++ b/run.py
@@ -6,6 +6,21 @@ from server.server import GameServer
 from server.config import ServerConfig
 
 
+async def _run_tasks_with_optional_timeout(tasks):
+    """Await tasks, optionally honoring RUN_SECONDS env var to cancel after a timeout."""
+    timeout_s = os.environ.get("RUN_SECONDS")
+    if not timeout_s:
+        await asyncio.gather(*tasks)
+        return
+    try:
+        await asyncio.wait_for(asyncio.gather(*tasks), timeout=float(timeout_s))
+    except asyncio.TimeoutError:
+        logging.info("Timeout reached (RUN_SECONDS=%s); stopping server tasks...", timeout_s)
+        for t in tasks:
+            t.cancel()
+        await asyncio.gather(*tasks, return_exceptions=True)
+
+
 async def run_in_memory():
     from server.transport import InMemoryTransport
     cfg = ServerConfig()