diff --git a/CHANGELOG b/CHANGELOG
index 0f42d26edb..797ee2614f 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG
+++ b/CHANGELOG
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ v 8.1.3
   - Force update refs/merge-requests/X/head upon a push to the source branch of a merge request (Stan Hu)
 
 v 8.1.2
+v 8.1.3
+  - Spread out runner contacted_at updates
+
+v 8.1.1
   - Fix cloning Wiki repositories via HTTP (Stan Hu)
   - Add migration to remove satellites directory
   - Fix specific runners visibility
diff --git a/lib/ci/api/helpers.rb b/lib/ci/api/helpers.rb
index e602cda81d..7e4986b6af 100644
--- a/lib/ci/api/helpers.rb
+++ b/lib/ci/api/helpers.rb
@@ -16,7 +16,9 @@ module Ci
       end
 
       def update_runner_last_contact
-        if current_runner.contacted_at.nil? || Time.now - current_runner.contacted_at >= UPDATE_RUNNER_EVERY
+        # Use a random threshold to prevent beating DB updates
+        contacted_at_max_age = UPDATE_RUNNER_EVERY + Random.rand(UPDATE_RUNNER_EVERY)
+        if current_runner.contacted_at.nil? || Time.now - current_runner.contacted_at >= contacted_at_max_age
           current_runner.update_attributes(contacted_at: Time.now)
         end
       end