Runner Forfeits Race Because Of Bib Number 666

A high-schooler in Kentucky forfeited her chance to qualify for the state race because she was assigned bib number "666"....

According to the story from Yahoo! Sports, Codie Thacker, a cross-country runner from Whitley County High in Kentucky, was assigned the bib number "666" prior to the regional championship race last week, and she refused the number.  She asked 3 different race officials for a different bib number, and was refused 3 times.  Thacker made the decision to not run the race rather than

"risk my relationship with God"

 

This would have been her third attempt at qualifying for the state race, and had been training for months.  Her coach applauded her decision.

I asked a few people in this building (some Christians, some not) and all agreed:  they would have run with the given number.  One of my co-workers, who studies the Bible and is a devout Christian, said

"I believe that some people take the words of the Bible out of context.  I think that this girl is one of those people, because no one asked her to denounce her beliefs or her love for Jesus, they just asked her to wear a number.  The Bible doesn't say that you will go to Hell for wearing the number 666 in a situation like this.  If you were to tattoo the number to your forehead, then we would be facing a different situation altogether...

Another one of my co-workers who is not a Christian said

I believe that the whole "666" thing is a superstition, and that this young lady's parents, through their teachings, have limited her potential in life.  It's great to have faith and a firm belief system, but not when you allow that system to interfere with logic.

How do you feel about this?  Would you have given up that number?  Should the officials have assigned her a different number?

(Via Yahoo!)