diff --git a/tools/testing/ktest/ktest.pl b/tools/testing/ktest/ktest.pl
index 2a0721b76a94..e6c381498e63 100755
--- a/tools/testing/ktest/ktest.pl
+++ b/tools/testing/ktest/ktest.pl
@@ -178,6 +178,7 @@ my $store_failures;
 my $store_successes;
 my $test_name;
 my $timeout;
+my $run_timeout;
 my $connect_timeout;
 my $config_bisect_exec;
 my $booted_timeout;
@@ -340,6 +341,7 @@ my %option_map = (
     "STORE_SUCCESSES"		=> \$store_successes,
     "TEST_NAME"			=> \$test_name,
     "TIMEOUT"			=> \$timeout,
+    "RUN_TIMEOUT"		=> \$run_timeout,
     "CONNECT_TIMEOUT"		=> \$connect_timeout,
     "CONFIG_BISECT_EXEC"	=> \$config_bisect_exec,
     "BOOTED_TIMEOUT"		=> \$booted_timeout,
@@ -1851,6 +1853,14 @@ sub run_command {
     $command =~ s/\$SSH_USER/$ssh_user/g;
     $command =~ s/\$MACHINE/$machine/g;
 
+    if (!defined($timeout)) {
+	$timeout = $run_timeout;
+    }
+
+    if (!defined($timeout)) {
+	$timeout = -1; # tell wait_for_input to wait indefinitely
+    }
+
     doprint("$command ... ");
     $start_time = time;
 
@@ -1877,13 +1887,10 @@ sub run_command {
 
     while (1) {
 	my $fp = \*CMD;
-	if (defined($timeout)) {
-	    doprint "timeout = $timeout\n";
-	}
 	my $line = wait_for_input($fp, $timeout);
 	if (!defined($line)) {
 	    my $now = time;
-	    if (defined($timeout) && (($now - $start_time) >= $timeout)) {
+	    if ($timeout >= 0 && (($now - $start_time) >= $timeout)) {
 		doprint "Hit timeout of $timeout, killing process\n";
 		$hit_timeout = 1;
 		kill 9, $pid;
@@ -2055,6 +2062,11 @@ sub wait_for_input {
 	$time = $timeout;
     }
 
+    if ($time < 0) {
+	# Negative number means wait indefinitely
+	undef $time;
+    }
+
     $rin = '';
     vec($rin, fileno($fp), 1) = 1;
     vec($rin, fileno(\*STDIN), 1) = 1;
diff --git a/tools/testing/ktest/sample.conf b/tools/testing/ktest/sample.conf
index 5e7d1d729752..65957a9803b5 100644
--- a/tools/testing/ktest/sample.conf
+++ b/tools/testing/ktest/sample.conf
@@ -809,6 +809,11 @@
 # is issued instead of a reboot.
 # CONNECT_TIMEOUT = 25
 
+# The timeout in seconds for how long to wait for any running command
+# to timeout. If not defined, it will let it go indefinitely.
+# (default undefined)
+#RUN_TIMEOUT = 600
+
 # In between tests, a reboot of the box may occur, and this
 # is the time to wait for the console after it stops producing
 # output. Some machines may not produce a large lag on reboot