diff --git a/.github/workflows/test-cron.yml b/.github/workflows/test-cron.yml
index 32ffd5bef..413c89243 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test-cron.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test-cron.yml
@@ -4,10 +4,11 @@ name: Cron test
 env:
   LATEST_IMAGE_TAG: "latest"
   IMAGE_BASE_NAME: "quay.io/quarkus-super-heroes"
+  DEFAULT_BRANCH: rhbq-2.13
 
 on:
   schedule:
-    - cron: '* * * * *'
+    - cron: '*/1 * * * *'
   workflow_dispatch:
     inputs:
       branch:
@@ -27,5 +28,8 @@ jobs:
   run-test:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
+      - name: Set variable defaults
+        run: echo "BRANCH=${{ github.event.inputs.branch || env.DEFAULT_BRANCH }}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+      
       - name: Print value
-        run: echo "branch = ${{ inputs.branch }}"
+        run: echo "branch = ${{ env.BRANCH }}"