diff --git a/node/pkg/p2p/p2p.go b/node/pkg/p2p/p2p.go
index dc5b7220f..efa749ec8 100644
--- a/node/pkg/p2p/p2p.go
+++ b/node/pkg/p2p/p2p.go
@@ -135,6 +135,47 @@ func DefaultConnectionManager() (*connmgr.BasicConnMgr, error) {
 	)
 }
 
+// bootstrapAddrs takes a comma-separated string of multi-address strings and returns an array of []peer.AddrInfo that does not include `self`.
+// if `self` is part of `bootstrapPeers`, return isBootstrapNode=true
+func bootstrapAddrs(logger *zap.Logger, bootstrapPeers string, self peer.ID) (bootstrappers []peer.AddrInfo, isBootstrapNode bool) {
+	bootstrappers = make([]peer.AddrInfo, 0)
+	for _, addr := range strings.Split(bootstrapPeers, ",") {
+		if addr == "" {
+			continue
+		}
+		ma, err := multiaddr.NewMultiaddr(addr)
+		if err != nil {
+			logger.Error("Invalid bootstrap address", zap.String("peer", addr), zap.Error(err))
+			continue
+		}
+		pi, err := peer.AddrInfoFromP2pAddr(ma)
+		if err != nil {
+			logger.Error("Invalid bootstrap address", zap.String("peer", addr), zap.Error(err))
+			continue
+		}
+		if pi.ID == self {
+			logger.Info("We're a bootstrap node")
+			isBootstrapNode = true
+			continue
+		}
+		bootstrappers = append(bootstrappers, *pi)
+	}
+	return
+}
+
+// connectToPeers connects `h` to `peers` and returns the number of successful connections.
+func connectToPeers(ctx context.Context, logger *zap.Logger, h host.Host, peers []peer.AddrInfo) (successes int) {
+	successes = 0
+	for _, p := range peers {
+		if err := h.Connect(ctx, p); err != nil {
+			logger.Error("Failed to connect to bootstrap peer", zap.String("peer", p.String()), zap.Error(err))
+		} else {
+			successes += 1
+		}
+	}
+	return successes
+}
+
 func Run(
 	obsvC chan<- *gossipv1.SignedObservation,
 	obsvReqC chan<- *gossipv1.ObservationRequest,
@@ -189,27 +230,9 @@ func Run(
 			// Let this host use the DHT to find other hosts
 			libp2p.Routing(func(h host.Host) (routing.PeerRouting, error) {
 				logger.Info("Connecting to bootstrap peers", zap.String("bootstrap_peers", bootstrapPeers))
-				bootstrappers := make([]peer.AddrInfo, 0)
-				for _, addr := range strings.Split(bootstrapPeers, ",") {
-					if addr == "" {
-						continue
-					}
-					ma, err := multiaddr.NewMultiaddr(addr)
-					if err != nil {
-						logger.Error("Invalid bootstrap address", zap.String("peer", addr), zap.Error(err))
-						continue
-					}
-					pi, err := peer.AddrInfoFromP2pAddr(ma)
-					if err != nil {
-						logger.Error("Invalid bootstrap address", zap.String("peer", addr), zap.Error(err))
-						continue
-					}
-					if pi.ID == h.ID() {
-						logger.Info("We're a bootstrap node")
-						continue
-					}
-					bootstrappers = append(bootstrappers, *pi)
-				}
+
+				bootstrappers, _ := bootstrapAddrs(logger, bootstrapPeers, h.ID())
+
 				// TODO(leo): Persistent data store (i.e. address book)
 				idht, err := dht.New(ctx, h, dht.Mode(dht.ModeServer),
 					// This intentionally makes us incompatible with the global IPFS DHT
@@ -258,42 +281,16 @@ func Run(
 		// Make sure we connect to at least 1 bootstrap node (this is particularly important in a local devnet and CI
 		// as peer discovery can take a long time).
 
-		// Count number of successful connection attempts. If we fail to connect to any bootstrap peer, kill the service
-		// TODO: Currently, returning from this function will lead to rootCtxCancel() being called in the defer() above.
-		// 		The service will then be restarted by Tilt/kubernetes
-		successes := 0
-		// Are we a bootstrap node? If so, it's okay to not have any peers.
-		bootstrapNode := false
+		bootstrappers, bootstrapNode := bootstrapAddrs(logger, bootstrapPeers, h.ID())
+		successes := connectToPeers(ctx, logger, h, bootstrappers)
 
-		for _, addr := range strings.Split(bootstrapPeers, ",") {
-			if addr == "" {
-				continue
-			}
-			ma, err := multiaddr.NewMultiaddr(addr)
-			if err != nil {
-				logger.Error("Invalid bootstrap address", zap.String("peer", addr), zap.Error(err))
-				continue
-			}
-			pi, err := peer.AddrInfoFromP2pAddr(ma)
-			if err != nil {
-				logger.Error("Invalid bootstrap address", zap.String("peer", addr), zap.Error(err))
-				continue
-			}
-
-			if pi.ID == h.ID() {
-				logger.Info("We're a bootstrap node")
-				bootstrapNode = true
-				continue
-			}
-
-			if err = h.Connect(ctx, *pi); err != nil {
-				logger.Error("Failed to connect to bootstrap peer", zap.String("peer", addr), zap.Error(err))
-			} else {
-				successes += 1
-			}
+		if bootstrapNode {
+			logger.Info("We are a bootstrap node.")
 		}
 
-		if successes == 0 && !bootstrapNode {
+		if successes == 0 && !bootstrapNode { // If we're a bootstrap node it's okay to not have any peers.
+			// If we fail to connect to any bootstrap peer, kill the service
+			// returning from this function will lead to rootCtxCancel() being called in the defer() above. The service will then be restarted by Tilt/kubernetes.
 			return fmt.Errorf("failed to connect to any bootstrap peer")
 		}
 		logger.Info("Connected to bootstrap peers", zap.Int("num", successes))