From the website of Finland’s World Wife-Carrying Championships. The competition has been held annually since 1995.

There are four customary styles to carry the wife: piggyback, dangling upside down, thrown over the shoulder, and crosswise. You may also create a new personal style. It is preferable to wear clothes that won’t be stripped off while running. Tools known to be beneficial are birch switches, swimming goggles, and swimming slippers. The track consists of sand, forested terrain, a water obstacle, and two log hurdles. If your style is “wife dangling upside down,” remember that in the pool the wife’s head is likely to go underwater.

The core of the race is a woman, a man, and their relationship. Intuitive understanding and becoming one with the partner are essential in both. Generally the best wife is one’s own. All the more if she is harmonious, gentle, and able to keep her balance. It is possible to train for the competition in daily routines: the bath, the supermarket, the playground. Wife-carrying is good for your relationship.