diff --git a/docs/milestones/M11/M11_plan.md b/docs/milestones/M11/M11_plan.md
index 358115af7..230d03d1b 100644
--- a/docs/milestones/M11/M11_plan.md
+++ b/docs/milestones/M11/M11_plan.md
@@ -1,45 +1,48 @@
 # M11 — Runner Lifecycle Surface
 
 Phase: **Phase III — Runner & Service Boundary**
-Status: Planned
+Status: In Progress
 
 ---
 
 # 1. Intent / Target
 
-Introduce lifecycle structure on ProcessingRunner:
+Introduce a **lifecycle structure** for the ProcessingRunner.
+
+The runner currently exposes a single method: `ProcessingRunner.run(request)`.
+
+This milestone refactors the internal implementation into three lifecycle stages:
 
 ```
-runner.prepare()
-runner.execute()
-runner.finalize()
+prepare → execute → finalize
 ```
 
-This enables:
-* cancellation
-* instrumentation
-* progress reporting
-* distributed execution (later milestones)
+This creates a **stable execution surface** that later milestones can instrument
+(progress tracking, cancellation, API runners, queue workers).
 
-Behavior-preserving. No runtime changes yet.
+Behavior must remain identical.
 
 ---
 
 # 2. Scope Boundaries
 
-### In scope
+## In scope
 
-* Add prepare / execute / finalize structure to ProcessingRunner
-* Route existing run() logic through execute()
-* Maintain identical behavior
-* Add minimal contract tests
+* Add lifecycle methods to ProcessingRunner
+* Refactor run() to delegate to lifecycle stages
+* Add minimal lifecycle contract test
+* Preserve all current execution behavior
 
-### Out of scope
+## Out of scope
 
-* No cancellation implementation yet
-* No async
-* No instrumentation hooks (M12)
-* No txt2img path through runner (M13)
+* No API changes
+* No CLI changes
+* No runtime behavior changes
+* No async / threading
+* No cancellation yet
+* No instrumentation yet
+
+Those come in later Phase III milestones.
 
 ---
 
@@ -47,17 +50,125 @@ Behavior-preserving. No runtime changes yet.
 
 | Surface | Invariant | Verification |
 |---------|-----------|--------------|
-| CLI behavior | Identical | smoke tests |
-| API responses | Unchanged | tests |
-| Processing results | Byte-identical | quality tests |
-| CI coverage | ≥ 40% | CI gate |
+| CLI behavior | identical outputs | smoke tests |
+| API responses | unchanged schemas | smoke tests |
+| Processing results | identical images / metadata | golden outputs |
+| Runtime context | still created inside process_images_inner | code review |
+| Coverage | ≥ 40% | CI gate |
 
 ---
 
-# 4. Deliverables
+# 4. Verification Plan
+
+CI must remain green.
+
+Expected CI checks:
+
+| Check | Expected |
+|-------|----------|
+| Linter | pass |
+| Smoke Tests | pass |
+| Quality Tests | pass (post-merge) |
+| Coverage | ≥ 40% |
+
+Manual verification: `pytest`
+
+Runner contract tests must pass.
+
+---
+
+# 5. Implementation Steps
+
+## Step 1 — Extend ProcessingRunner
+
+File: `modules/runtime/runner.py`
+
+Refactor runner:
+
+```python
+class ProcessingRunner:
+
+    def run(self, request):
+        state = self.prepare(request)
+        result = self.execute(state)
+        return self.finalize(state, result)
+
+    def prepare(self, request):
+        return request
+
+    def execute(self, state):
+        from modules.processing import process_images_inner
+        return process_images_inner(state.processing)
+
+    def finalize(self, state, result):
+        return result
+```
+
+Important: prepare/execute/finalize must remain **pass-through behavior**.
+
+## Step 2 — Preserve delegation
+
+Call graph must remain:
+
+```
+process_images(p)
+      │
+      ▼
+ProcessingRunner.run(request)
+      │
+      ▼
+prepare
+      │
+execute
+      │
+finalize
+      │
+      ▼
+process_images_inner(p)
+```
+
+## Step 3 — Update contract tests
+
+Add lifecycle verification.
+
+File: `test/quality/test_processing_runner.py`
+
+Add test verifying lifecycle order. Keep existing `test_processing_runner_delegates`.
+
+---
+
+# 6. Risk & Rollback Plan
+
+Risk level: **Low**
+
+Changes are mechanical and internal.
+
+Rollback: revert runner lifecycle commit, restore single run(), re-run CI.
+
+No runtime data or external API surfaces change.
+
+---
+
+# 7. Deliverables
+
+Code: `modules/runtime/runner.py` lifecycle implementation
+
+Tests: updated `test_processing_runner.py`
 
-Code: `modules/runtime/runner.py` (lifecycle methods)
-Tests: `test/quality/test_processing_runner.py` (lifecycle contract)
 Docs: M11_plan.md, M11_toolcalls.md, M11_run1.md, M11_summary.md, M11_audit.md
-Ledger: Update `docs/serena.md`
+
+Ledger update: `docs/serena.md`
+
 Tag: `v0.0.11-m11`
+
+---
+
+# 8. Exit Criteria
+
+M11 closes when:
+
+* PR CI passes
+* post-merge Quality Tests pass
+* lifecycle runner merged
+* ledger updated
+* tag created
diff --git a/docs/milestones/M11/M11_run1.md b/docs/milestones/M11/M11_run1.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ec3e3995a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/milestones/M11/M11_run1.md
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+# M11 CI Run 1 — Runner Lifecycle Surface
+
+**Date:** 2026-03-12  
+**Branch:** m11-runner-lifecycle  
+**PR:** [#30](https://github.com/m-cahill/serena/pull/30)  
+**Trigger:** push, pull_request  
+**Commit:** fb705fe6 (M11 impl), ce2659f1 (trigger CI)
+
+---
+
+## 1. Workflow Identity
+
+| Workflow | Run ID | Trigger | Branch | Status |
+|----------|--------|---------|--------|--------|
+| Linter | 22989791480, 22989833120 | push | m11-runner-lifecycle | ✓ success |
+| Smoke Tests | — | pull_request | m11-runner-lifecycle | not triggered |
+
+**Quality Tests:** Post-merge only (runs on push to main).
+
+**Note:** Smoke Tests did not run for this PR (may be branch-protection or workflow config). Linter (ruff + eslint) passed.
+
+---
+
+## 2. Workflow Inventory
+
+### Linter (22989833120)
+
+| Job | Required? | Purpose | Pass/Fail | Notes |
+|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|-------|
+| ruff | Yes | Python lint | ✓ | 7s |
+| eslint | Yes | JS lint | ✓ | 13s |
+
+---
+
+## 3. Refactor Signal Integrity
+
+### A) Tests
+
+- **Tier:** Smoke (not run for this PR), Quality (post-merge)
+- **Coverage of refactor target:** `test_runner_lifecycle_order` verifies prepare → execute → finalize order. `test_processing_runner_delegates` verifies run still delegates to process_images_inner.
+- **Expected:** Both pass. No behavior change.
+
+### B) Change Inventory
+
+| File | Change |
+|------|--------|
+| modules/runtime/runner.py | Lifecycle: prepare, execute, finalize; run() delegates |
+| test/quality/test_processing_runner.py | Add test_runner_lifecycle_order |
+
+---
+
+## 4. Verdict
+
+**Verdict:** Linter passed. Smoke Tests did not run for this PR (may require manual trigger or merge). Implementation is mechanical and behavior-preserving; Quality Tests will run post-merge.
+
+**Recommended:** Merge PR; verify Quality Tests pass post-merge. If Smoke Tests are required for merge, consider re-running workflows or checking branch protection.
diff --git a/docs/milestones/M11/M11_toolcalls.md b/docs/milestones/M11/M11_toolcalls.md
index 12f0ffcb9..cd9e5e85a 100644
--- a/docs/milestones/M11/M11_toolcalls.md
+++ b/docs/milestones/M11/M11_toolcalls.md
@@ -4,3 +4,10 @@ Implementation toolcalls for Cursor execution.
 
 | Timestamp | Tool | Purpose | Files/Target | Status |
 |-----------|------|---------|--------------|--------|
+| 2026-03-11 | run | Create branch m11-runner-lifecycle | git | done |
+| 2026-03-11 | search_replace | Implement lifecycle in runner.py | modules/runtime/runner.py | done |
+| 2026-03-11 | search_replace | Add test_runner_lifecycle_order | test/quality/test_processing_runner.py | done |
+| 2026-03-11 | search_replace | Update M11_plan.md with full details | docs/milestones/M11/M11_plan.md | done |
+| 2026-03-11 | run | Commit and push M11 implementation | git | done |
+| 2026-03-11 | run | Create PR #30 | gh pr create | done |
+| 2026-03-12 | search_replace | Update M11_run1.md with CI results | docs/milestones/M11/M11_run1.md | done |
diff --git a/modules/runtime/runner.py b/modules/runtime/runner.py
index 96c38b53e..7b8b12f47 100644
--- a/modules/runtime/runner.py
+++ b/modules/runtime/runner.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 """ProcessingRunner — unified execution entrypoint for Serena pipeline.
 
 M10: Thin adapter around process_images_inner. No behavior changes.
+M11: Lifecycle surface (prepare → execute → finalize). Pass-through behavior.
 """
 
 
@@ -14,9 +15,24 @@ class ProcessingRequest:
 class ProcessingRunner:
     """
     Unified execution entrypoint for Serena processing pipeline.
+    M11: Exposes lifecycle stages for future instrumentation.
     """
 
     def run(self, request):
-        """Execute processing pipeline."""
+        """Execute processing pipeline via lifecycle stages."""
+        state = self.prepare(request)
+        result = self.execute(state)
+        return self.finalize(state, result)
+
+    def prepare(self, request):
+        """Lifecycle stage 1: prepare request. Pass-through in M11."""
+        return request
+
+    def execute(self, state):
+        """Lifecycle stage 2: run processing. Delegates to process_images_inner."""
         from modules.processing import process_images_inner
-        return process_images_inner(request.processing)
+        return process_images_inner(state.processing)
+
+    def finalize(self, state, result):
+        """Lifecycle stage 3: finalize. Pass-through in M11."""
+        return result
diff --git a/test/quality/test_processing_runner.py b/test/quality/test_processing_runner.py
index 18450556a..f2663b9f4 100644
--- a/test/quality/test_processing_runner.py
+++ b/test/quality/test_processing_runner.py
@@ -1,7 +1,30 @@
-"""Contract tests for ProcessingRunner (M10 runner skeleton)."""
+"""Contract tests for ProcessingRunner (M10 runner skeleton, M11 lifecycle)."""
 from modules.runtime.runner import ProcessingRunner, ProcessingRequest
 
 
+def test_runner_lifecycle_order(monkeypatch, initialize):
+    """ProcessingRunner invokes prepare → execute → finalize in order."""
+    calls = []
+
+    class TestRunner(ProcessingRunner):
+        def prepare(self, request):
+            calls.append("prepare")
+            return request
+
+        def execute(self, state):
+            calls.append("execute")
+            return "result"
+
+        def finalize(self, state, result):
+            calls.append("finalize")
+            return result
+
+    runner = TestRunner()
+    runner.run(ProcessingRequest(processing="dummy"))
+
+    assert calls == ["prepare", "execute", "finalize"]
+
+
 def test_processing_runner_delegates(monkeypatch, initialize):
     """ProcessingRunner.run delegates to process_images_inner."""
     import modules.processing