@bidadarikeseleo If you can afford it, it is worth spending the money (and the time - plan to spend at least half an hour trying things on) on shoes. You probably don't need the 100$ shorts, though.
@rustedspurs4 As a suggestion for next year, I'd like to get matched with someone with similar fitness levels to me, so I'd like an option to enter my weight, and a couple PRs (maybe squat 1 RM and 5k time trial).