decaying, depressing, desperate for the tourist dollar vibe

Unfortunately, Leadville has since turned that old tired look around in a remarkable way. Most working class people can't even afford to live there anymore because the housing and rental markets have exploded. You're lucky to find a piece of shit studio for $1000/month. Half the town is second homeowners and Airbnbs now. There are fucking Teslas driving around town, you certainly didn't see that 10 years ago. Leadville was awesome when I first moved there, but now its appeal is drastically reduced for me because it's turning into just another ski town for the wealthy. I prefer my mountain towns rough and desperate, and Leadville isn't like that anymore.

I've never run the Leadville 100 myself but I've paced other runners overnight several times throughout the years. It's an iconic race for sure but I think it's way overpriced and a bit too full of itself for me to be interested. Only way I'd ever run it would be if they comped me in which is never gonna happen.

the 'company town' thing

What's that?