diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index e96d252..0d398fb 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -57,6 +57,8 @@ and its version numbers follow [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/).
   helpers (`#20`).
 - `RuntimeControlMessage::Custom(...)` is now clone-safe and no longer panics
   when cloned (`#27`).
+- `RuntimeGuard` now supports reliable restart cycles (`start, shutdown, start`)
+  by retrying control-message delivery across ticker generations (`#18`).
 
 ### Removed
 - Unused aliases and imports producing compiler warnings.
diff --git a/src/runtime_guard.rs b/src/runtime_guard.rs
index 507c8b9..81e76a3 100644
--- a/src/runtime_guard.rs
+++ b/src/runtime_guard.rs
@@ -64,7 +64,9 @@ async fn wait_for_ticker_sender(
         // Register interest before checking state to avoid missing notifications.
         let notified = ticker_ready.notified();
 
-        if let Some(sender) = sender_slot.lock().await.clone() {
+        if let Some(sender) = sender_slot.lock().await.clone()
+            && !sender.is_closed()
+        {
             return sender;
         }
 
@@ -91,12 +93,22 @@ impl RuntimeGuard {
         // the (single) ticker once it has been created.
         tokio::spawn(async move {
             while let Some(msg) = receiver.recv().await {
-                let ticker =
-                    wait_for_ticker_sender(Arc::clone(&fanout_sender), Arc::clone(&fanout_ready))
-                        .await;
-
-                if ticker.send(msg).await.is_err() {
-                    break; // ticker dropped
+                let mut pending = msg;
+                loop {
+                    let ticker = wait_for_ticker_sender(
+                        Arc::clone(&fanout_sender),
+                        Arc::clone(&fanout_ready),
+                    )
+                    .await;
+
+                    match ticker.send(pending).await {
+                        Ok(_) => break,
+                        Err(err) => {
+                            // Ticker may have dropped between readiness check and send.
+                            // Keep the message and retry once a new ticker is available.
+                            pending = err.0;
+                        }
+                    }
                 }
             }
         });
diff --git a/tests/integration.rs b/tests/integration.rs
index 96359b2..154e578 100644
--- a/tests/integration.rs
+++ b/tests/integration.rs
@@ -284,6 +284,44 @@ async fn test_runtime_guard_shutdown_sent_before_ticker_is_not_lost() {
     );
 }
 
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn test_runtime_guard_supports_restart_after_ticker_drop() {
+    let guard = RuntimeGuard::default();
+    let handle = guard.handle();
+
+    // First start/stop cycle.
+    let first = guard.runtime_ticker().await;
+    handle.shutdown().await;
+    let first_op = timeout(
+        Duration::from_secs(1),
+        first.tick(tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_secs(5))),
+    )
+    .await
+    .expect("timed out waiting for first shutdown");
+    assert!(matches!(
+        first_op,
+        ProcessOperation::Control(RuntimeControlMessage::Shutdown)
+    ));
+    drop(first);
+
+    // Send control while no ticker is alive. This must not kill fanout and
+    // must be delivered when the next ticker starts.
+    handle.shutdown().await;
+
+    // Second start/stop cycle using the same RuntimeGuard.
+    let second = guard.runtime_ticker().await;
+    let second_op = timeout(
+        Duration::from_secs(1),
+        second.tick(tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_secs(5))),
+    )
+    .await
+    .expect("timed out waiting for second shutdown");
+    assert!(matches!(
+        second_op,
+        ProcessOperation::Control(RuntimeControlMessage::Shutdown)
+    ));
+}
+
 #[tokio::test]
 async fn test_runtime_handle_custom_control_message_is_delivered() {
     let guard = RuntimeGuard::default();
@@ -313,6 +351,27 @@ async fn test_runtime_handle_custom_control_message_is_delivered() {
     }
 }
 
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn test_runnable_can_restart_start_shutdown_start() {
+    let controller = Arc::new(ExampleController::default());
+    let handle = controller.process_handle();
+
+    for _ in 0..2 {
+        let runnable = Arc::clone(&controller);
+        let join = tokio::spawn(async move {
+            runnable.process_start().await.unwrap();
+        });
+
+        tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_millis(50)).await;
+        handle.shutdown().await;
+
+        timeout(Duration::from_secs(2), join)
+            .await
+            .expect("timed out waiting for runnable shutdown")
+            .expect("runnable task failed");
+    }
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn test_runtime_control_message_custom_clone_is_safe() {
     let msg = RuntimeControlMessage::Custom(Arc::new(7_u8));