On October 2024, Vladimir Fedorovich Selemenev, a prominent scientist in the field of ion exchange and chromatography, Doctor of Chemical Sciences, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, and Professor, turned 85. The life of this scientist, educator, and athlete can be read in his book, Chemistry on the Run: Autobiographical Miniatures, from which we borrowed the title of our conversation. We discussed with Vladimir Fedorovich not only his biography and interests but also touched on issues of concern to chemists: university professors, scientists specializing in chromatog­raphy and ion exchange.