diff --git a/.github/ensure-tester/action.yml b/.github/ensure-tester/action.yml
index 9bdda082b79..ca85b7da853 100644
--- a/.github/ensure-tester/action.yml
+++ b/.github/ensure-tester/action.yml
@@ -70,7 +70,10 @@ runs:
 
     - name: Print Startup Log
       shell: bash
-      run: cat /run/log.out || true # don't fail
+      run:
+        # Try 6 times to see if .user-data-finished has been written to
+        for i in {0..6} ; do scripts/run_on_tester "cat /home/ubuntu/.user-data-finished" && break ; sleep 5 ; done ;
+        scripts/run_on_tester "cat /run/log.out"
 
     # Set up a context for this run
     - name: Copy Repo to Tester
diff --git a/.github/spot-runner-action/dist/index.js b/.github/spot-runner-action/dist/index.js
index d0bf221d435..7f72f808e4f 100644
--- a/.github/spot-runner-action/dist/index.js
+++ b/.github/spot-runner-action/dist/index.js
@@ -281,8 +281,8 @@ class Ec2Instance {
                             Ebs: {
                                 VolumeSize: 64,
                                 VolumeType: 'gp3',
-                                Throughput: 1000,
-                                Iops: 5000
+                                Throughput: 250,
+                                Iops: 3000
                             },
                         },
                     ],
@@ -1040,7 +1040,14 @@ class UserData {
                 `sudo service docker restart`,
                 "sudo wget -q https://github.com/earthly/earthly/releases/download/v0.8.10/earthly-linux-$(dpkg --print-architecture) -O /usr/local/bin/earthly",
                 "sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/earthly",
-                `sudo bash -c 'echo \'Acquire::Retries "3"; Acquire::https::Timeout "240"; Acquire::http::Timeout "240"; APT::Get::Assume-Yes "true"; APT::Install-Recommends "false"; APT::Install-Suggests "false";\' > /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/99-aztec-build'`,
+                `sudo bash -c 'cat <<EOF > /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/99-aztec-build
+Acquire::Retries "3";
+Acquire::https::Timeout "240";
+Acquire::http::Timeout "240";
+APT::Get::Assume-Yes "true";
+APT::Install-Recommends "false";
+APT::Install-Suggests "false";
+EOF'`,
                 "sudo apt install -y brotli",
                 'echo "MaxStartups 1000" >> /etc/ssh/sshd_config',
                 'echo "ClientAliveInterval=30" >> /etc/ssh/sshd_config',
diff --git a/.github/spot-runner-action/src/ec2.ts b/.github/spot-runner-action/src/ec2.ts
index 5e6ed63a6ea..752bcdc8534 100644
--- a/.github/spot-runner-action/src/ec2.ts
+++ b/.github/spot-runner-action/src/ec2.ts
@@ -200,8 +200,8 @@ export class Ec2Instance {
             Ebs: {
               VolumeSize: 64,
               VolumeType: 'gp3',
-              Throughput: 1000,
-              Iops: 5000
+              Throughput: 250,
+              Iops: 3000
             },
           },
         ],
diff --git a/.github/spot-runner-action/src/userdata.ts b/.github/spot-runner-action/src/userdata.ts
index e15b7097e6b..c4ba6631e2b 100644
--- a/.github/spot-runner-action/src/userdata.ts
+++ b/.github/spot-runner-action/src/userdata.ts
@@ -22,7 +22,14 @@ export class UserData {
       `sudo service docker restart`,
       "sudo wget -q https://github.com/earthly/earthly/releases/download/v0.8.10/earthly-linux-$(dpkg --print-architecture) -O /usr/local/bin/earthly",
       "sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/earthly",
-      `sudo bash -c 'echo \'Acquire::Retries "3"; Acquire::https::Timeout "240"; Acquire::http::Timeout "240"; APT::Get::Assume-Yes "true"; APT::Install-Recommends "false"; APT::Install-Suggests "false";\' > /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/99-aztec-build'`,
+      `sudo bash -c 'cat <<EOF > /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/99-aztec-build
+Acquire::Retries "3";
+Acquire::https::Timeout "240";
+Acquire::http::Timeout "240";
+APT::Get::Assume-Yes "true";
+APT::Install-Recommends "false";
+APT::Install-Suggests "false";
+EOF'`,
       "sudo apt install -y brotli",
       'echo "MaxStartups 1000" >> /etc/ssh/sshd_config',
       'echo "ClientAliveInterval=30" >> /etc/ssh/sshd_config',