Rapid Shallow Breathing During the Run

I completed my 2nd Sprint last weekend, and made some solid improvement over my first one from 2 months ago.  I have an interesting observation that I noticed during the 5K run portion of my recent event.......that is, no matter whether I was passing someone or being passed, I noticed a significant difference in how I was breathing compared to others.  My breathing was very audible, rapid, and shallow.  In fact, If I were being passed by me, I would have thought (by the sound) that I was dying.  Is there a right way?  Should I be focusing on breathing deeper and slower?  I've never had any formal coaching for running so I am willing to listen and try to improve.  To me, my current breathing is just my way of "naturally" trying to get my body what it needs.  Is there some secret breathing techniques that you folks use when running those incredible sub-18 minute 5ks?  Do good runners really focus on "belly breathing" and is that a more effective way to get better air exchange?