diff --git a/straywild_discovery/relay.py b/straywild_discovery/relay.py
index 9ab96f1..944c8e0 100644
--- a/straywild_discovery/relay.py
+++ b/straywild_discovery/relay.py
@@ -211,8 +211,12 @@ class RelayService:
 
     def _run(self) -> None:
         while not self._stop.is_set():
+            # Waiting for network activity must not hold the allocation lock.
+            # Otherwise the worker can immediately reacquire the lock on each
+            # timeout and starve HTTP handlers trying to create a relay route,
+            # especially on small single-core hosts.
+            events = self._selector.select(timeout=0.05)
             with self._lock:
-                events = self._selector.select(timeout=0.05)
                 for key, _mask in events:
                     allocation = key.data
                     if isinstance(allocation, _Allocation):