A high school cross-country runner in Kentucky decided to forego competing at the Kentucky regional championships when she decided the bib number that was assigned to her would have gone against her religious beliefs.

The number "666," given to high school junior Codie Thacker, has particular religious significance to evangelical Christians, who comprise the majority of the population in the state located in the so-called Bible Belt. The said number appears in the biblical Book of Revelations and is considered the mark of the "Beast"; that is, Satan or the Antichrist. The fear of the number is so widespread that a word -- hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia -- was coined to describe it.

Thacker, who had been preparing since June for the race, was frustrated about the result. She claimed that when she tried to get a different bib number, her request was denied thrice. Out of respect for her religious beliefs, she decided to cancel her participation instead.

She also told race organisers to strike her name out from the list of participants. "It makes me sick just thinking that my name is associated with that number."

"I didn't want to risk my relationship with God and try to take that number," Thacker told the Lex18.com. "It's the mark of the beast. That's what the Bible says."

Her coach, Gina Croley, was also less than enthusiastic. ""I saw it and I was like, 'whoa'. I don't think she will wear that number."

When pressed for comment, representatives of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association said that they were not aware that the request for the change in bib number was made for religious reasons, adding they would have agreed had they known about Thacker's predicament.

Had Thacker won the race, she would have qualified for the state championship. As it is, her cross-country season is over. She chose to focus on the next season instead, praying that in her last year of high school, she will not have to choose between her religion and her athletic career.