Mike Radigan said:No bubble burst here. True, land mass does have an effect. In fact the earth is pear shaped because of that. But in general altitude does have an effect. The NCAA even makes adjustments for it in track and field:
See
The only NCAA allowances for altitude relate only to running events, and are based on the fact that the thinner air at higher altitudes has a slowing down effect on times. This has nothing to do with gravity!
These altitude adjustments are so athletes qualifying for running events at higher altitudes get a break for the thinner atmosphere slowing them down significantly.
Here is a link to a page that lists the altitude adjustment for running events-- note thast the NCAA qualifying times are higher for altitude events.
http://209.85.165.104