diff --git a/.github/workflows/go-test.yml b/.github/workflows/go-test.yml
index 984dd51..1b61a43 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/go-test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/go-test.yml
@@ -162,7 +162,9 @@ jobs:
         uses: protocol/multiple-go-modules@v1.4
         env:
           GOFLAGS: ${{ format('{0} {1}', env.GOTESTFLAGS, env.GOFLAGS) }}
-          CGO_ENABLED: ${{ toJSON(fromJSON(steps.config.outputs.json).cgo) != 'false' }}
+          # go only recognizes CGO_ENABLED values of 0 and 1; anything else
+          # (e.g. true/false) is ignored in favor of the platform default
+          CGO_ENABLED: ${{ toJSON(fromJSON(steps.config.outputs.json).cgo) != 'false' && '1' || '0' }}
         with:
           run: go test ./...
       - name: Run tests (32 bit)
@@ -175,7 +177,7 @@ jobs:
         env:
           GOARCH: 386
           GOFLAGS: ${{ format('{0} {1}', env.GO386FLAGS, env.GOFLAGS) }}
-          CGO_ENABLED: ${{ toJSON(fromJSON(steps.config.outputs.json).cgo) != 'false' }}
+          CGO_ENABLED: ${{ toJSON(fromJSON(steps.config.outputs.json).cgo) != 'false' && '1' || '0' }}
         with:
           run: |
             export "PATH=$PATH_386:$PATH"
@@ -188,7 +190,9 @@ jobs:
         uses: protocol/multiple-go-modules@v1.4
         env:
           GOFLAGS: ${{ format('{0} {1}', env.GORACEFLAGS, env.GOFLAGS) }}
-          CGO_ENABLED: ${{ toJSON(fromJSON(steps.config.outputs.json).cgo) != 'false' }}
+          # the race detector requires cgo, even when the repo disables it
+          # for the regular test runs
+          CGO_ENABLED: '1'
         with:
           run: go test -race ./...
       - name: Collect coverage files
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 93841ee..5473752 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -119,6 +119,7 @@ If you want to disable cgo, you can do so by setting `cgo` to `false` in `.githu
   "cgo": false
 }
 ```
+This applies to the regular and 32-bit test runs. The race detector run always keeps cgo enabled because `go test -race` requires it; set `skipRace` to `true` if your module cannot build with cgo at all.
 
 ### Workflow Modification