Discussion: Calf pain

Not an injury; more of a niggle. I often get very tight soleuses (or is it solei?) - they're the calf muscles below the main gastrocnemius. I stretch well, and always make sure I stretch the calves properly. Usually I can attribute the pain to being caused by hard runs/races with a lot of steep climbing, but sometimes (like last night) I get pain from just a steady flat-ish run. The pain lasts for several days before it subsides, and massaging / stretching seems to have little effect.

Last night the soleus in each leg was 'burning' almost straight away, only 5 minutes after I'd stretched and warmed-up. (I stretch the soleus by doing the common calf stretch first, then dropping the knee to feel the stretch lower in the calf.)

My shoes from last night are New Balance road shoes, 7 months old and have done about 350 miles, but it's not only these shoes that seem to do it.

Is it likely to be a shoe thing or is there some mechanical fault with my legs?

You might be over-stretching. Be careful stretching out a muscle that's already hurting. You can do it, and it can help, but you have to be gentle.

Pay attention to the position that your feet are in when you sleep. This is a huge cause of chronic calf tightness ( and problems being able resolve injuries like plantar fasciitis).
If your calves are tight from running and then you sleep all night with them in a shortened position (toes pointed)... the benefits from stretching are limited. Solei control balance/stability so they take a lot of abuse on the trails or uneven surfaces- as well as hills. You get micro-tears in your muscles when you use them. If they repair in a shortened position then your range of motion is decreased. When you go to run again ( increasing stretch and force through them) they get damaged more easily.

There are socks you can get to help keep your ankle in a neutral position- the Strassburg Sock. I had issues with the discomfort of wearing a sock at night, so I just learned to hook the blanket under my heels and pull it up towards my chin. This holds the toes up when sleeping on your back. If you sleep on you front, hanging your feet off the end of the bed works too. If you sleep on your side- you may need the sock.