Aaishah [Allah be pleased with her] narrates that as a young and thin girl, she was once accompanying the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, on one of his journeys. He, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam asked his Companions to move ahead of them, which they did. He, sallaallahu alayhi wa sallam, then asked to race with her; she did and won.

 Some time later, after she had forgotten about this, she was with the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, on another of his journeys and he wanted to race her. She wanted to excuse herself, by telling him she could not, since she had gained some weight, but he, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, insisted. They raced and this time he (pbuh) won; so the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, laughed and said; �This [is] for that.� 

He also led the army in combat alongside running errands for his family and doing household chores. Nevertheless, all this did not stop him from twice racing with his wife Aaishah[RA] .

Other husbands might argue that the streets are not a suitable place for racing; so, they can surely take their wives away from people, on a picnic.

Moreover, competition is not just in running.

One can compete to win in a permissible electronic game or general knowledge quiz, in which one can ask each other questions and keep score. 

A third group of husbands believes that such competitions may cause their wives to become too bold and eventually challenge them.

This is not true, because the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, raced with his wife, so this is an act to be followed, for copying his behaviour with his wives can bring nothing but good.

Also, modern research has established that being kind and easygoing with ones wife makes it easier for her to be mindful of you. 

There are lessons to be learned from the aforementioned incident related by Aaishah concerning the Prophet�s, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, kindness toward his wives.

 1- The Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, was the one to ask for a race both times.

 This teaches husbands that they should take the initiative in such competitions. Wives may be too busy with housework or fear rejection or, as is the generally innate nature of women, be too shy to propose such an idea.

 However, on their part, they should try to urge their husbands when they see they are free and in a good mood.

2- A husband should not incessantly brag of superiority over his wife.

We notice that the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, outran Aaishah after she had already outran him the first time.

3- Alternately, a husband should neither always deliberately lose for the sake of his wife or the competition would be meaningless.

The factor that decided the win of Aaishah the first time was her youth and fitness, and when she put on some weight, the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, outran her.

4- A husband should remember that such competitions are just for amiability and fun. Neither of the spouses should get worked up or a row could ensue and the activity would lose its desired aim. This can be understood from the reaction of the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, who only cheerfully referred to his win to counter that of Aaishah's .