Complex sentence: In 1896 Gascoyne set the world record for 25 miles in 57 minutes 18.4 seconds, his first attempt at a distance greater than 10 miles, on a cinder track, easily breaking the 59 mins 1.6 secs set by Schaeffer.
Split into simpler sentences: In 1896 Gascoyne set the world record for 25 miles in 57 minutes 18.4 seconds. This was his first attempt at a distance greater than 10 miles on a cinder track and he easily broke the 59 mins 1.6 secs record set by Schaeffer.