[Senator Clay Davis]

I mean I just...ugh...

In one of the strangest cases of purported religious beliefs intersecting with athletic performance, a Kentucky junior cross country runner voluntarily walked away from a chance to qualify for the state meet to avoid running with the bib number "666", which she said conflicted with her Christian beliefs.

As reported in depth by Lexington NBC affiliate LEX18, Whitley County High (Whitley County, Kent.) cross country runner Codie Thacker voluntarily forfeited her spot in a regional championship race after her coach drew bib number 666 for the runner.

Thacker and her coach argued that she should be allowed to switch her number, but race officials refused the request.

Those officials would later deny that Thacker claimed she needed to change bib numbers for religious reasons, though the junior insists she was explicit about her motivation. To her, running with the number 666 on her chest would have signified a serious breach in her faith.

"I didn't want to risk my relationship with God and try to take that number," Thacker told LEX18. "I told them to mark out my name because it makes me sick just thinking that my name is associated with that number."

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highsc...111318529.html