Thurlow said he had been a bit "stiff and sore" during pre-training walks, but he expected that to subside.
His plan is to hike up Mauao early in the mornings to see the sunrise and had written numbers on his calendar to signal how many walks he needed to achieve each day.
Thurlow also planned to hike to the summit twice in one day during some weekends to allow himself an extra three days near the end of the challenge in case the weather was bad or his muscles needed a rest.
"It all comes down to the fact that it is for a good cause, that is my motivation," he said.
"It is a good way to raise funds and get fit."
He will be accompanied by his wife, Helen, who had also signed up to do the challenge.
"It is quite nice because some of my friends said they would come to keep me company," Thurlow said.
It will not be the first time Thurlow had taken on a physical challenge to raise funds for Waipuna Hospice.
He rowed his first marathon in 2011 and raised more than $5000 for the charity.
"I rowed my marathon on a Concept 2 rowing machine in just over three hours," Thurlow said.
"On the day, I survived and was very pleased to raise over $5000. But the next day I couldn't bend to get into my car."
Hospice board member Leona Smith plans to join Thurlow to scale Mauao the required number of times.
Her husband, Graeme, plans to keep up with her and together they aim to raise $10,000 for the hospice.
Committing to the endeavour was a no-brainer for Smith.
"This is a great initiative that promotes health and wellness and at the same time raises money for an incredibly important charity in our community," she said.
"It is a challenge to complete this event, but it's equally a challenge to get support and donations so we will be putting our efforts into both components," Smith said.
To support Richard Thurlow, visit https://givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/lets-do-this-and-get-funds-for-waipuna-hospice
To support Leona Smith, visit https://givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/leona-and-graeme-its-38-x-2-mt-everest-challenge
