diff --git a/include/kpn/scheduler.hpp b/include/kpn/scheduler.hpp
index 54bbb5b..d11d775 100644
--- a/include/kpn/scheduler.hpp
+++ b/include/kpn/scheduler.hpp
@@ -53,6 +53,19 @@ public:
     }
 
     void start() override {
+        // Under the lifecycle lock for the same reason stop() is: submit()
+        // reads queues_ and this rebuilds it. A network starts its nodes one at
+        // a time, and a node already started fires into the next one's channel,
+        // whose push callback submits — so a submission can genuinely land
+        // while another pool is still inside start(). ThreadSanitizer reports
+        // it as a read at submit() against this write, and the consequence is
+        // worse than a torn read: push_back can reallocate the vector under a
+        // reader that has already indexed it.
+        //
+        // Queues are all constructed before any worker is spawned, which is
+        // what keeps worker_loop's own queues_[id] out of this — it never takes
+        // the lock, so holding it across the spawn cannot deadlock.
+        std::unique_lock lk(lifecycle_mx_);
         stopped_.store(false, std::memory_order_relaxed);
         queues_.clear();
         for (std::size_t i = 0; i < thread_count_; ++i)