diff --git a/cmd/bench/idle_linux.go b/cmd/bench/idle_linux.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7e8a7c1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/bench/idle_linux.go
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+// Copyright 2021 The Go Authors. All rights reserved.
+// Use of this source code is governed by a BSD-style
+// license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+
+package main
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"log"
+	"os"
+	"strconv"
+	"strings"
+	"time"
+)
+
+const idleMaxLoad = 0.2
+
+// loadAvg returns the 1-minute load average.
+func loadAvg() (float64, error) {
+	b, err := os.ReadFile("/proc/loadavg")
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0, fmt.Errorf("error reading /proc/loadavg: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	s := strings.TrimSpace(string(b))
+	log.Printf("Load average: %s", s)
+
+	parts := strings.Split(s, " ")
+
+	avg, err := strconv.ParseFloat(parts[0], 64)
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0, fmt.Errorf("malformed load average %q: %v", parts[0], err)
+	}
+	return avg, nil
+}
+
+func waitForIdle() error {
+	avg, err := loadAvg()
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("error reading load average: %w", err)
+	}
+	if avg < idleMaxLoad {
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	log.Printf("Waiting for load average to drop below %.2f...", idleMaxLoad)
+
+	tick := time.NewTicker(30 * time.Second)
+	defer tick.Stop()
+
+	for _ = range tick.C {
+		avg, err := loadAvg()
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("error reading load average: %w", err)
+		}
+		if avg < idleMaxLoad {
+			break
+		}
+
+		log.Printf("Waiting for load average to drop below %.2f...", idleMaxLoad)
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/cmd/bench/idle_other.go b/cmd/bench/idle_other.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..10798b2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/bench/idle_other.go
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+// Copyright 2021 The Go Authors. All rights reserved.
+// Use of this source code is governed by a BSD-style
+// license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+
+//go:build !linux
+// +build !linux
+
+package main
+
+// waitForIdle is only implemented for Linux.
+func waitForIdle() error {
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/cmd/bench/main.go b/cmd/bench/main.go
index 67d0d8b..7a3863b 100644
--- a/cmd/bench/main.go
+++ b/cmd/bench/main.go
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 package main
 
 import (
+	"flag"
 	"fmt"
 	"log"
 	"os"
@@ -18,6 +19,8 @@
 	"strings"
 )
 
+var wait = flag.Bool("wait", true, "wait for system idle before starting benchmarking")
+
 func determineGOROOT() (string, error) {
 	g, ok := os.LookupEnv("GOROOT")
 	if ok {
@@ -60,6 +63,16 @@
 }
 
 func main() {
+	flag.Parse()
+
+	if *wait {
+		// We may be on a freshly booted VM. Wait for boot tasks to
+		// complete before continuing.
+		if err := waitForIdle(); err != nil {
+			log.Fatalf("Failed to wait for idle: %v", err)
+		}
+	}
+
 	goroot, err := determineGOROOT()
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Fatalf("Unable to determine GOROOT: %v", err)